Friday, January 14, 2011LSI Cuts Jobs In Southern CaliforniaLSI Corporation, a developer of data storage products, has cut a product line it had been developing in Southern California, resulting in the layoffs of employees in Irvine and Westlake Village, as well as Israel and Silicon Valley. The cuts came as a result of the loss of a program from HP, which had been the sole OEM for LSI's Storage Virtualization Manager (SVM) product line. According to reports in The Register, LSI said it would be discontinuing its SVM and DPM products because of the "rapi (More info...)
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IPO Filings Keep Coming In Southern CaliforniaThe filing of an IPO by Los Angeles-based Boingo Wireless on Friday seems to indicate the interest in public markets by venture-backed, Southern California firms has not abated. The filing comes on the heels of Demand Media's kickoff of its roadshow to Wall Street on Wednesday, after it set an initial pricing range on its own IPO offering. Other notable Southern California firms that have filed for an IPO recently include Santa Monica-based Cornerstone On Demand, San Diego-based Peregrine Semico (More info...)
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Boingo Wireless Files For IPOLos Angeles-based Boingo Wireless, the operator of a global Wi-Fi hot spot network, has filed for an IPO, saying Friday afternoon that it is looking to raised up to $75M in an IPO. According to Boingo, it intends to apply to list on the NASDAQ Global Market as WIFI. The firm's IPO is being underwritten by Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank Securities, Pacific Crest Securities, and William Blair & Company. The firm reported it had net income of $1.4M on revenues of $65.715M for 2009, and net income of (More info...)
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ShareSquare Raises $150KLos Angeles-based ShareSquare, a new startup focused on the QR Code creation area, has launched its services this week, focusing on helping musicians and entertainers create QR codes. QR codes are three dimensional barcodes which can be recognized by mobile phones to connect users with web sites and other information. According to the firm, it has raised $150,000 in a seed funding round--part of an ongoing, $500,000 funding round in progress--which so far includes angel investors Paige Craig, Jo (More info...)
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LeisureLink Targets Caribbean ResortsPasadena-based LeisureLink, the travel distribution firm focused on specialty lodging suppliers backed by
Clearstone Venture Partners, Mission Ventures, and Wyndham Exchange & Rentals, said today that it is targeting Caribbean resorts. The firm said it is looking to sign up resorts in the Caribbean, which it says are "underrepresented" in key online travel distribution channels. The company says it currently has a number of Caribbean resorts, including Morgan's Cove, located in Jaco Beach, Cos (More info...)
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Demand Media Releases Trails.com AppSanta Monica-based Demand Media, the online publishing firm headed by Richard Rosenblatt, said this morning that it has updated its mobile application for its web property Trails.com. Trails.com operates an online site focused on hikers and bikers, showing details on various bicycling and hiking trails around the country. According to Trails.com, it has rolled out a new Trail Finder & GPS mobile application, a free iPhone and iPod Touch application which suggest trails to explore based on a user (More info...)
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Verengo Solar Plus Gets $9.7MOrange-based Verengo Solar Plus, an installer of residential solar power systems, said Thursday that it has raised $9.7M in a funding round. The round came from Angeleno Group. Verengo installs both photovoltaic and solar hot water systems. The company said it is now looking to expand its services beyond Southern California. Verengo's CEO is Randy Bishop, and its President is Ken Button. The firm was advised by Seven Hills Partners LLC in the funding.
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Interview with Wes Nichols, MarketShare
For our Friday interview, we thought we'd catch up with Los Angeles-based MarketShare, the Elevation Partners-backed software provider, to hear where the firm is nowadays. MarketShare recently launched a rebranding effort for the company, and is in the midst of a major hiring and expansion phase. We spoke with Wes Nichols, the firm's co-founder and CEO.
First off, for those not familiar with Marketshare -- what is it that you do?
Wes Nichols: MarketShare is an analytics company. Its prim (More info...)
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Move, AOL Expand Real Estate RelationshipMove, Inc., the Campbell-based operator of Realtor.com and Move.com, said Thursday along with AOL that Move has been given the exclusive rights to power AOL's Real Estate homes for sale search. Move, which has major operations in Thousand Oaks, said the expanded relationship will expand reach and visibility to AOL's monthly visitors. The two said that the AOL Real Estate powered by Move will offer up property listings, neighborhood and school content, and information from real estate experts. Fi (More info...)
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SoCalGas Funds Fuel Cell ManufacturerLos Angeles-based gas utility Southern California Gas Co. said Thursday that it has made an investment of $1M, in Oregon-based ClearEdge Power, a manufacturer of fuel cells. Southern California Gas Co. said the investment is a "strategic addition" to its clean energy portfolio. ClearEdge Power is a maker of fuel cell equipment, which is installed into homes and businesses to create electricity. The firm's equipment converts natural gas--which is relatively cheap and accessible in the United Stat (More info...)
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