Thursday, March 17, 2011


Cornerstone OnDemand Up Nearly 47 Percent In IPO
Santa Monica-based Cornerstone OnDemand, the developer of talent management and human resources software headed by Adam Miller, were up nearly 47 percent Thursday in its initial public offering. The firm, which debuted on the NASDAQ Global Market, had debuted in the morning at $13.00 per share, but surged to close at $19.07, trading as high as $20.25, despite market worries about the Japanese earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear disaster. The robust reception for Cornerstone--trading as CSOD--came a (More info...)
posted on Thursday, March 17, 2011(Full story)

Vitesse: No Major Impact Expected From Japan Earthquake
Camarillo-based Vitesse Semiconductor, which develops high speed networking semiconductors, said Thursday afternoon that it "does not anticipate any major impact" due to the earthquake in Japan. Vitesse said that it believes its inventories are sufficient to meet global demand until supply chain disruptions are resolved. The firm also said its employees are safe and office in Tokyo was undamaged and functional after the disaster. Vitesse and other semiconductor manufacturers have just now starte (More info...)
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CoolPlanetBiofuels Gets Google Backing
Camarillo-based CoolPlanetBiofuels, which develops technology to convert biomass to biofuels, has scored backing from Google, the firm said Thursday. According to CoolPlanetBiofuels, Google Ventures has joined its Series B funding round. Financial details of the funding were not disclosed. Google joins GE, NRG, and ConocoPhillips, which recently invested in the firm via Energy Technology Ventures. CoolPlanetBiofuels is headed by Mike Cheiky.
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Cornerstone OnDemand Jumps In IPO Debut
Santa Monica-based Cornerstone OnDemand debuted on the markets Thursday in a strong showing, trading as high as $20.25 after its IPO debut a $13.00 per share. The firm was trading around $19.60, or 50 percent above its debut price in morning trading. The firm, headed by Adam Miller, develops software-as-a-service for human resources and talent management. Cornerstone is trading on the NASDAQ Global Market as CSOD. The firm priced last night at $13.00, well above its initial $9 to $11 estimated i (More info...)
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Break Adds Greg Siegel As SVP
Los Angeles-based Break Media, the online publisher of video content, announced this morning that it has added Greg Siegel as its Senior Vice President, Entertainment Development. Siegel was most recently founder and CEO of VidMe, and also has served at talent agency Endeavor. Break said that Siegel will be responsible for handling the firm's entertainment partnerships, and also to grow its film and television initiatives, according to the firm. Break Media is headed by Keith Richman, and operat (More info...)
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Boingo Deploys At Three Shopping Malls
Los Angeles-based Boingo Wireless, the operator of a global Wi-Fi network,s aid today that it has deployed its Wi-Fi services at three shopping malls. Boingo said the deployments come at The Citadel, Colorado Springs, CO; Manhattan Tower Center, Manhattan, KS; and Oakland Mall, Troy, MI. The deployment was through a partnership with property owner Urban Retail Properties, LLC. Boingo said each of the malls will provide Wi-Fi access in their main concourses, food courts, and restaurants. Financia (More info...)
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X Prize Foundation Adds James Cameron To Board
Playa Vista-based X PRIZE Foundation, the group which runs the prize-based innovation competitions, said this week that it has added filmmaker James Cameron to its Board of Trustees. The group--which was behind the Ansari X Prize, which spurred the development of the first, commercial spacecraft--said Cameron joins such notable as Dean Kaman, Dr. J. Craig Venture, Elon Musk, Ray Kurzweil, Anousheh Ansari, Larry Page, and Arianna Huffington on its board. Cameron is known for Avatar, Titanic, Term (More info...)
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uSamp To Support Red Cross
Encino-based uSamp, the online sampling and polling firm headed by Gregg Lavin and Matt Dusig, announced this morning that it will be running a donation drive to help the American Red Cross support victims of the Japanese disaster. The firm said it will match 10 percent of the value of surveys taken on its Surveyhead site, looking to raise a total of $25,000 for the American Red Cross. uSamp's survey services are used by companies for online polling and market research.
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WD Rolls Out 6 TB Storage Product
Irvine-based Western Digital, the hard disk drive manufacturer, announced today that it has launched a new, 6 terabyte external hard drive product. The firm said the new dual drive system is 33 percent more storage than the firm's previous large capacity drive system. WD's My Book Studio Edition II is aimed at creative professionals and Mac users who need storage for creating, storing, editing, and archiving large HD video and photo files. WD said the new system supports eSATA, Firewire 800, Fi (More info...)
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Nirvanix Offers To Shift Japanese Data
San Diego-based Nirvanix, the provider of cloud data storage, said today that it is offering its customers in Japan the option to move their data to any of its other data centers from Japan, free of charge. The firm operates a data center in Japan, which it says is approximately 200 miles away from the impact area in the disaster zone. Nirvanix also operates data centers in Europe and in the U.S., and says its customers have the option of moving those to those other continents free of charge. Th (More info...)
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Qualcomm: Minimal Disruption To Supply Chain
San Diego-based Qualcomm reported last night that it does not foresee any significant impact on its supply chain due to the disaster in Japan. According to the firm, it has "multiple, geographically diverse" sources for its supply, as well as production processes specifically designed to handle disruptions in its supply chain. Qualcomm also said that it has buffer stock and will adjust its products to handle any loss in the availability of Bismaleimide Triazine (BT), which is used in chipset pac (More info...)
posted on Thursday, March 17, 2011(Full story)