Tuesday, February 1, 2011


United Talent Agency Backs MediaMorph
New York-based MediaMorph, a developer of technology used to track media rights for film, television, games and other publishers, said today that it has inked a strategic deal with Beverly Hills-based United Talent Agency, and also scored $2M in funding. MediaMorph--which also has offices in Los Angeles--said the new funding came from new and existing private investors. Details on those investors were not disclosed. MediaMorph said it provides its services to clients such as E!/G4/Style Networks (More info...)
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Row 44 Hires Southwest Airlines Vet
Westlake Village-based Row 44, the developer of in-flight broadband products, said today that it has hired on Southwest Airlines vet Doug Murri. The firm said that Murri led Southwest's implementation for mission critical aircraft messaging (ACARS), including both airborne and ground systems, implementation of Southwest's electronic flight bag, and other key initiatives at Southwest. Row 44's biggest win to date has been with Southwest, where it provides its hardware to power Southwest's in-flig (More info...)
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Yardi Systems Buys RealTown
Santa Barbara-based Yardi Systems announced Tuesday afternoon that it has acquired San Diego Real Estate Electronic Publishing Company (REEPCO), which operates InternetCrusade, an online site focused on training real estate professionals, and RealTown, an online real estate community. Financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. Yardi said the acquisition will make its products available to a large number of real estate professionals. Yardi said that REEPCO will continue to operate fro (More info...)
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VertiFlex Raises $14M For Spinal Implants
San Clemente-based VertiFlex, a developer of medical devices for the treatment of spine disorders, said this afternoon that it has raised $14M in a equity placement. The funding came from Aberdare Ventures, Alta Partners, New Enterprise Associates, as well as new investor Thomas, McNerney & Partners. VertiFlex said the funding deal includes a provision to raise an additional, $14M investment within twelve months. Vertiflex said it will use the new capital for its clinical trials and for market d (More info...)
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Film Fresh Finds $2M In Funding
Los Angeles-based Film Fresh, which operates an online, film download, rental, and purchase service, said this week that it has raised $2M in an equity investment. The firm said the funding came from an unidentified private investment group. FilmFresh is using RoxioNow's technology for its service, and is headed by Rick Bolton.
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Commission Junction Gets Behind Pay-Per-Call
Santa Barbara-based Commission Junction, the performance marketing and affiliate arm of ValueClick, said today that it is seeing significantly higher conversion rates on its PayPerCall service--which is powered by fellow Santa Barbara-based company RingRevenue--than with its online campaigns. Commission Junction said it is finding that callers appear to be more ready to buy, versus online shoppers who are just browsing. Commission Junction launched its PayPerCall services last year, looking to h (More info...)
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AeroVironment Gets Electric Vehicle Charging Win
Monrovia-based AeroVironment, the developer of unmanned aerial vehicles and electric vehicle charging technology, has scored an electric vehicle charging win with a Kansas based manufacturer. According to Milbank Manufacturing Co., based in Kansas, it has selected AeroVironment to provide charging stations to its customers. Milbank said it will offer up AV's EV charging station models for its customers under its own brand. The charging stations are aimed at homes, businesses, and other locations (More info...)
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AudioMicro Scores Funding From Stock Photo Site Fotolia
Los Angeles-based AudioMicro, the provider of royalty free music and sound effects run by Ryan Born, has scored a round of financing from micro stock photo site Fotolia. The $750,000 funding round also included prior investor DFJ Frontier. As part of the funding, Oleg Tscheltzoff, the co-founder and CEO of Fotolia, has joined AudioMicro's board of directors. AudioMicro operates an online web site which allows users to license royalty free music and sound effects for their video products, YouTube (More info...)
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Total Immersion Power App for eBay
Los Angeles-based Total Immersion, the developer of augmented reality software, said today that it is powering a new feature for eBay, which allows users to try on sunglasses using its technology. The firm said it is powering a mobile shopping feature within eBay's Fashion app, which allows users to apply virtual sunglasses to their own video image. The company said the feature will help users adjust fit, choose styles, and find colors before shopping for sunglasses on eBay's online auction site (More info...)
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Interview with Robert Flynn, Aggregage
In the quest to own the world of Internet content, there has been a huge amount of focus given to the world of consumer Internet content. However, one area has mostly been ignored, which is vertically focus, business-to-business information. Los Angeles-based Aggregage (www.aggregage.com) is looking to help aggregate the content across multiple blog publishing sites, and curate that information into specific, B2B niche vertical web sites. The startup is headed by Robert Flynn--a former VC, and c (More info...)
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BAT Launches Social Media Efforts With Celebrities
Irvine-based Brand Affinity Technologies, the new startup of Ryan and Chad Steelberg, said this morning that it has launched social media campaigns for three companies. The firm said that Goalshot, IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group), and Jeetyet Productions have gone live with campaigns powered by the company, around campaigns with Nick Barnett of the Green Bay Packers, Snoop Dog, and actor and recording artist Donnie Wahlberg. Brand Affinity Technology runs a platform which matches celebrity e (More info...)
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