Monday, November 8, 2010


HauteLook Extends Into Travel With BonVoyou Buy
Los Angeles-based HauteLook, the online private sales firm backed by Insight Venture Partners, said Monday that it has launched a new travel offering, HauteLook Getaways. HauteLook said the new offering will offer upscale travel in the U.S. and abroad, including full trip packages and luxury and boutique hotels. The new travel offering comes as a result of the acquisition of Private Sale LLC, which operates BonVoyou.com, a members-only travel site. Financial terms of the acquisition were not dis (More info...)
posted on Monday, November 8, 2010(Full story)

eByline Gets $1.5M
Los Angeles-based eByline, a startup developing a marketplace for journalists and freelance writers, said today that it has raised $1.5M in a first round of funding. The round came from E.W. Scripps Company. eByline helps publications find experienced and qualified journalists to contribute to their publications, and allows those journalists to showcase their work. The funding comes on top of an angel funding round the firm announced in September. eByline's founders are Bill Momary and Allen Nar (More info...)
posted on Monday, November 8, 2010 (More)(Full story)

RealGravity Finds $2.0M
RealGravity, a stealth mode firm working on software to help users add video to their web sites, has raised $2.0M out of a $2.5M funding round, according to a regulatory filing by the firm today. Source of the funding was not disclosed, however, the firm lists Bill Youstra of Kohlberg Ventures as a new board member. RealGravity's founders look to be split between Los Angeles and San Francisco.
posted on Monday, November 8, 2010 (More)(Full story)

Ambit Files For IPO
San Diego-based Ambit Biosciences, a firm discovering, developing and commercializing targeted small molecule therapeutics for treating cancer, has filed for an IPO, saying it is looking to raise up to $86.25M on the Nasdaq Global Market. The firm said it has applied to list as AMBT. The IPO is being underwritten by J.P. Morgan, Credit Suisse, Leerink Swann, and Wedbush PacGrow Life Sciences. The company is backed by Apposite Healthcare Fund, OrbiMed Investors, Forward Ventures, GrowthWorks Cana (More info...)
posted on Monday, November 8, 2010(Full story)

SAIL Venture Partners Adds Advisor
Costa Mesa-based clean technology venture capital investor SAIL Venture Partners announced today that it has added John Picard, a green technology leader, to its advisory board. SAIL Venture Partners said Picard was involved in the Gap's sustainability strategy, and also has helped clients such as Sony, BMW, Siemens, Ford, MGM, eBay, and others. Picard runs his own sustainable design, building and consulting business.
posted on Monday, November 8, 2010(Full story)

Inphi Set To Debut In IPO This Week
Inphi Corp., the manufacturer of high speed semiconductors which has a majority of its operations in Westlake Village, but is based in Santa Clara, is expected to debut this week in the latest Southern California IPO. The firm is set to sell 6.8 million shares of its stock at between $10.00 and $12.00 per share, and has filed to trade on the NYSE as IPHI. Inphi joins such firms as Green Dot, RealD, ReachLocal, and MaxLinear who have reached the markets so far this year. Southern California has a (More info...)
posted on Monday, November 8, 2010(Full story)

NextCoupons.com Acquired By NexTag
Santa Monica-based NextCoupons.com, an online coupon site focused on online deals and coupons, has been acquired by Nextag, an online comparison shopping website. Financial terms of the buy were not disclosed. NextCoupons.com is headed by Joseph Raffetto, and offered an online site which lets users upload their own coupon deals. Raffetto is Chief Marketing Officer at BackSlash Agency and prior Director of Performance Marketing and Fox Interactive Media / MySpace, according to his LinkedIn profil (More info...)
posted on Monday, November 8, 2010(Full story)

uSamp Updates Online Panel Service
Los Angeles-based uSamp, the online panel and survey firm headed by Gregg Lavin and Matt Dusig, said today that the firm has updated its panel service, SampleMarket. The firm said the self-service SampleMarket 2.0 service allows its customers to access its panel of screened and vetted survey respondents in real time, and will be available in beta in December. uSamp explained that the new service will provide an API which allows its customers to integrate their own products and technologies to ga (More info...)
posted on Monday, November 8, 2010(Full story)

Newport Media Hails Shipment Milestone
Lake Forest-based Newport Media, a developer of digital TV systems-on-a-chip, is hailing its shipment volumes today, saying it has shipped more than 10 million of its 65nm systems-on-a-chip for braodcast mobile TV. The firm said the chips support analog TV, the ISDB-T standard in Japan and Latin America, and the CMMB Mobile DTV standards in China. The firm did not disclose any financial details of the shipment volumes, nor did it say which customers were most responsible for hitting the mileston (More info...)
posted on Monday, November 8, 2010(Full story)

Coda Automotive Loses CEO
Santa Monica-based CODA Holdings, the parent firm of electric car company CODA Automotive, said late Friday that its CEO, Kevin Czinger, has resigned. According to CODA, it has named Steven "Mac" Heller as the company's Interim Chief Executive Officer, and Mark Jamieson as Chief Operating Officer. CODA said the move came as a result of "mutual consent" between the firm and Czinger, and is part of a "realignment" to put together a team with "deep manufacturing, marketing and sales strengths". Int (More info...)
posted on Monday, November 8, 2010(Full story)

Boingo Expands Network in South Korea
Los Angeles-based Boingo Wireless, the operator of a network of Wi-Fi access points, is continuing to grow its network, saying today it has inked a deal with KT, the South Korean telephone giant, to add around 36,000 new hotspots in South Korea. Boingo said it now has over 210,000 locations globally in its network. Boingo offers up fee-based Wi-Fi access via a large network of independent wireless hotspot operators. Users can use a single login to Boingo's service to access hotspots around the w (More info...)
posted on Monday, November 8, 2010(Full story)

Novatel Wireless Buys Enfora
San Diego-based Novatel Wireless, the developer of wireless broadband modems for connecting PCs to cell phone networks, said today that it is in a definitive agreement to acuiqre Enfora, a developer of wireless, machine-to-machine (M2M) communications products. The deal is worth approximately $64.5M in cash, with up to $6M in possible earn out. Novatel Wireless said the acquisition will help it diversify its customer base and product lines into adjacent markets. Enfora had revenues of $61.3M in (More info...)
posted on Monday, November 8, 2010(Full story)

ShopNation Partners With theFashionSpot
Los Angeles-based ShopNation, one of the current class of the LaunchpadLA business mentoring effort, has partnered with fashion focused and editorial site theFashionSpot, the firms said today. ShopNation, which is headed by Travis Schneider, is powering theFashionSpot's online fashion storefront. Financial terms of the partnership were not disclosed. The companies said that theFashionSpot's new shopping storefront allows shoppers to search for products by designerer, size, color, brand, retailer (More info...)
posted on Monday, November 8, 2010(Full story)

Nordson Wins LG
Carlsbad-based Nordson ASYMTEK, a developer of dispensing and coating systems, announced today that it has been selected by LG Display Co., Ltd. to supply its equipment to LG's LED manufacturing operations in Nanjing and Guagzhou, China. Financial impact of the win was not disclosed. Nordson said LG is using its automated dispensing equipment as part of its manufacturing operations for LG's LED BLU technology.
posted on Monday, November 8, 2010(Full story)

Ambit Expands Board, Names Execs
San Diego-based Ambit Biosciences, a developer of small molecule treatments for cancer, said today that it has named Faheem Hasnain as its Chairman of the board, added Alan Fuhrman as its Chief Financial Officer, and promoted Chritopher Morl to Chief Operating Officer. Hasnain was most recently President, CEO, and director of Facet Biotechnology, which was just acquired by Abbot Laboratories; he has also served at PDL Biopharma, Biogen Idec, and the Oncology Therapeutics Network. Fuhrman joins f (More info...)
posted on Monday, November 8, 2010(Full story)