Wednesday, December 1, 2010OnGreen Snags Cleantech Open's SteebLos Angeles-based OnGreen, the online green business marketplace headed by Nikhil Jain, said Wednesday that it has snagged Erik Steeb as the firm's new Vice President of Business Development. Steeb was most recently the Regional Director for Cleantech Open, and had been active in outreach to the Los Angeles clean technology industry. Steeb also has previously served at intel Corporation. OnGreen recently closed on $1.4M in a Series A funding round, has been looking to develop an online marketpla (More info...)
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RealD Launches Secondary OfferingLos Angeles-based RealD, the developer of 3D movie projection technology, has hit the markets with its secondary offering of its common stock. The firm--which had a successful IPO in July--said its existing stockholders are offering up 7,815,001 shares of its common stock. RealD is not receiving any proceeds from the secondary offering, whichi s being managed by J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, Piper Jaffray & Co., William Blair & Company, L.L.C., Stifel Nicolaus Weisel and BMO Capital Markets Corp.
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Prolacta Bioscience Renews With Breast Milk GroupMonrovia-based Prolacta Bioscience, the venture backed firm which is extracting nutritional fortification from human breast milk, used to help premature and other ill infants, said Wednesday that it has renewed an agreement with the International Breast Milk Project (IBMP), a provider of donated breast milk to infants suffering from HIV/AIDS, malnourishment, poverty, and disease. According to Prolacta, it will process all donor milk collected through IBMP, ensuring milk safety, providing donor s (More info...)
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Cyber Monday Spending Totals $1.028 BillionConsumers were out in force Monday, on Cyber Monday, traditionally the busiest e-commerce day of the year, spending $1.028 billion, according to the latest numbers from Internet measurement firm comScore. comScore reported today that those Cyber Monday sales were up 16 percent from last year, and is the heaviest online spending day in history--and the first to surpass one billion dollars. Online spending by consumers on Monday easily exceeded Black Friday sales, which totaled $648M. For the firs (More info...)
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FindTheBest Gets Backing From Kleiner PerkinsSanta Barbara-based FindTheBest.com, the comparison search engine firm run by Kevin O'Connor, said today that it has received Series A funding from Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers' sFund. Amount of the funding was not disclosed. O'Connor was the co-founder of DoubleClick. FindTheBest offers up a wide range of comparison applications, which allow users to compare everything from schols, to smart phones, and more in lists that can be sorted and filtered. KPCB's sFund, which was launched in Octobe (More info...)
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Awarepoint Names CEOSan Diego-based Awarepoint, a developer of real-time, asset and patient tracking products for hospitals, said today that it has named Jay Deady as the company's new President and CEO. Deady was most recently EVP of Client Solutions for Eclipsys, and also has served at McKesson Provider Technologies, Cerner Corporation, and ADAC Healthcare. Awarepoint is venture backed by JAFCO Ventures, Cardinal Partners and Venrock Associates.
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Gores Group Sells Portfolio FirmLos Angeles-based private equity firm The Gores Group said today that it has agreed to sell one of its portfolio firms, Vincotech Holdings Sarl, to Mitsubishi Electric Corporation. Financial details of the deal were not disclosed. Vincotech is a developer, manufacturer, and distributor of power modules used in inverters, as part of industrial and solar power systems. Gores had acquired Vincotech in December 2007, from Tyco Electronics. The company said the sale does not include Vincotech's Shenz (More info...)
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Boingo Expands T-Mobile Roaming DealLos Angeles-based Boingo Wireless, the operator of a network of Wi-Fi access points, said Wednesday that it has renewed and extended the firm's roaming deal with T-Mobile USA. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. According to Boingo, the agreement covers both laptops and Wi-Fi enabled handheld devices, and gives T-Mobile's customers access to Wi-Fi at 53 Boingo airport locations, and the Washington State Ferries in the Seattle area. The deal also gives Boingo Wireless customers access to T-Mobi (More info...)
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Interview with Bruce Nash, OpusDataLast month, Beverly Hills-based Nash Information Services, the firm behind The Numbers--one of the most extensive database of financial information about movies--announced a new service which allows third party software applications and websites to pull information from the firm's database, via OpusData (www.opusdata.com). We sat down with Bruce Nash, founder of the sites, to learn more about the new service.
For those not familiar with it, what is The Numbers all about?
Bruce Nash: We hav (More info...)
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FamilyFinds.com Raises $5.75MSanta Monica-based FamilyFinds.com, the new daily promotions site headed by former LowerMyBills.com founder Matt Coffin, said today that it has raised $5.75M in a funding round, and has officially entered the online daily deal space. The funding had been uncovered by socalTECH back in October. The new funding came from Split Rock Partners. According to FamilyFinds.com, it is combining a family focus with "hyper-local geo targeting" of deals, offering up deals from neighborhood merchants, and fam (More info...)
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Specific Media Buys European FirmIrvine-based ad network Specific Media said this morning that it has acquired a Amsterdam-based firm, AdCombination, as part of an European expansion. Financial terms of the buy were not disclosed. Specific Media said the acquisition of AdCombination expands its operations into the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg. The company claims the move will make it the largest, independent digital media platform in Europe. Specific Media is headed by Tim Vanderhook.
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D2 Technologies Expands Android SupportSanta Barbara-based D2 Technologies, a developer of embedded IP communications products, said today that it has enhanced its products to support multiple, Android device types. The firm's software--which is used for supporting voice-over-IP, IMS, SIP, and other protocols--now works with tablets, IP media phones, and connected TVs, on to of existing smart phone support. D2's software is used to implement voice and video calls, instant messaging, and other features for smart phone makers.
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Occam Networks Wins Illinois Telecom FirmsSanta Barbara-based Occam Networks said today that it has won five members of the Western Illinois Video (WIV) Group as customers. Occam said the five, who are all working on providing advanced video services to their customers, are using its Occam BLC 6000. Financial details of the win were not disclosed. The five Illinois telecom providers are New Windsor Telephone, Oneida Telephone Exchange, Reynolds Telephone, Viola Home Telephone Company and Woodhull Telephone Company. Occam Networks is a p (More info...)
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