Wednesday, March 23, 2011Chumby8 Preorders OpenSan Diego-based Chumby, the developer of Internet-connected, alarm-clock type devices which is headed by Derrick Oien, opened up its newest product, the chumby8, for pre-order Wednesday. The chumby8--the latest in a series of Internet-connected, widget-capable devices from Chumby--provides an 8-inch LCD touchscreen, and ships April 5th. The firm said it started accepting pre-orders Wednesday for the $199 device. Chumby's devices allow users to stream things like weather, news, Facebook updates, (More info...)
posted on Wednesday, March 23, 2011(Full story)
TVC Gets Big Exit In AccordentThe sale this morning of El Segundo-based Accordent Technologies was a big win for San Diego investment firm TVC Capital. TVC was the sold institutional investor in Accordent, which sold to Polycom for $50M. TVC's investment in Accordent was managed by Jeb Spencer, who was Chairman of Accordent's board; TVC's Steve Hammerslag also served as a director. TVC invested $4M in Accordent in 2006--the only investment round the firm raised over its lifetime.
posted on Wednesday, March 23, 2011(Full story)
Insights: The Challenges (& Opportunities) of Starting a Tech Company in LA
Jason Nazar is CEO and founder of Santa Monica-based document sharing firm DocStoc, and recently put together his thoughts on the challenges, and opportunities, facing startups in Los Angeles. He gave us permission to reprint it in our Insights and Opinions section.
I recently hosted a panel at the Twiistup Conference about LA tech companies. I asked the panelists (David Travers, Brian Norgard, Fouad ElNaggar, & Demian Sellfors) about the specific challenges that we face down here in Los (More info...)
posted on Wednesday, March 23, 2011(Full story)
iSuppli Gets Focus From Japan DisasterEl Segundo-based market research firm iSuppli, which is now owned by IHS, has gotten major focus in the last week and a half, as the electronics industry continues to figure out the scope of damage to supply chains from the Japanese earthquake and tsunami. iSuppli issued a report earlier this week estimating that raw materials used in 25 percent of global chip product have been hit by disruption in Japan. iSuppli said Monday that one quarter of the global production of silicon wafers used to mak (More info...)
posted on Wednesday, March 23, 2011(Full story)
Mobile Banking Use Surges, Says ReportA new report released today by Internet measurement firm comScore says that the use of mobile banking applications has surged in the past year. comScore reported that in Q4 of 2010, 29.8 million Americans accessed their financial services accounts via a mobile device, a 54 percent increase from Q4 of 2009. Despite some concern for online security, comScore said it found that the adoption of smart phones, 3G devices, and unlimited plans fueled the growth. The biggest growth area looks to be power (More info...)
posted on Wednesday, March 23, 2011(Full story)
OnGreen Exits Beta, Launches Cleantech MarketplaceLos Angeles-based OnGreen, the online marketplace for green deals and clean technology business opportunities, said today that it has officially launched its site out of beta. The firm, which is headed by Nikhil R. Jain, offers up a way for clean technology companies to seek investment. The firm is backed by China Southern Hong Kong Investment Ltd. OnGreen has been in beta since June of last year. The company reports it already has a listing of 250 companies from 35 countries, looking to raise $ (More info...)
posted on Wednesday, March 23, 2011(Full story)
Demand Media, Getty Images In Licensing DealSanta Monica-based Demand Media, the online content firm headed by Richard Rosenblatt and which runs such sites as LIVESTRONG.com and eHow, said today along with image licensing firm Getty Images, that the two are in a joint licensing deal. The two companies said that the agreement gives Demand media the ability to pull from Getty images' library of premium, rights-managed images, video, and audio for use on such sites as TypeF, LIVESTRONG.com, and eHow. Financial details of the licensing deal w (More info...)
posted on Wednesday, March 23, 2011(Full story)
Accordent Acquired By PolycomEl Segundo-based Accordent Technologies, which develops presentation and webcasting management software for the enterprise, has been acquired by Polycom, Polycom said today. The deal was worth $50M in cash. Polycom said it will use the acquisition to enhance its offerings. Accordent provides products for streaming live webcasts, webcasting meetings and classes, and similar enterprise video streaming applications. Polycom said Accordent had $9M in revenues in 2010, and has over 1,200 customers. A (More info...)
posted on Wednesday, March 23, 2011(Full story)
Girls Scouts Go High Tech with iPhone Cookie Sale AppAre the days of Girls Scouts knocking at your door selling cookies on their way out? Proving that iPhone mobile applications are now fully mainstream, the Girls Scouts of the USA, the organization which oversees Girls Scouts in the US, said today that it has released the Official Girl Scouts of the USA Cookie Finder for the iPhone or iPod touch. The group said that the free app allows users to find their way to the nearest cookie sale nearby, with dates of the start and end of local cookie sales (More info...)
posted on Wednesday, March 23, 2011(Full story)
Boingo Releases New Wi-Fi AppLos Angeles-based Boingo Wireless, which operates a network of Wi-Fi hotspots, said this morning that it has released a new, Wi-Fi app. The firm said its new application, which runs on Windows, Mac, Android, and iOS platforms, will allow users to both log onto its network of hot spots, but also to find free and open Wi-Fi networks. The new app is an expansion from the firm's prior app, which exclusively focused on connecting its customers to Boingo partnered Wi-Fi hotspot providers. An additiona (More info...)
posted on Wednesday, March 23, 2011(Full story)
Slacker Adds ESPN SportsSan Diego-based personalized radio and music service Slacker said today that it has added content from ESPN Sports to its service. According to Slacker, it will allow its users to create a personalized station with ESPN SportCenter headlines and customized sports coverage from ESPN Radio programming. Details of the business relationship were not disclosed by the firms. Slacker said the deal will include up-to-the-minute coverage on all major sporting event and top news stories, both nationally a (More info...)
posted on Wednesday, March 23, 2011(Full story)
Savings.com Names Swalla COOSanta Monica-based Savings.com, the online coupon site run by Loren Bendele, announced today that it has added Thomas Swalla as Chief Operating Officer at the firm. Swalla was most recently at Lagovent Ventures, where he was an EIR. Swalla also has served as President of Knowledge Adventure, where Savings.com said he was responsible for launching and managing all online business initiatives for the company. Savings.com offers up online coupon offers and discounts to consumers. The site also rece (More info...)
posted on Wednesday, March 23, 2011(Full story)
PostRelease Becomes SponsoredContentLong Beach-based PostRelease, a provider of a product which allows marketers to insert sponsored posts into online forums, said yesterday that it has rebranded itself as SponsoredContent. The firm, which is backed by Signia Ventures, is headed by Justin Choi, who also runs digital marketing firm Cie Studios. PostRelease said its product automatically matches videos, product announcements and special offers to online forum discussion sites.
posted on Wednesday, March 23, 2011(Full story)
ID Analytics Boosts TeamSan Diego-based ID Analytics, a provider of consumer risk management tools for companies, said today that it has added three senior executives to its team. The firm said it has named Steven Seoane as Vice President of Enterprise Solutions, Dr. Joseph Barr as Chief Scientist, and Felice Rando as Director of Analytics. Seoane was previously a VP at LexisNexis, Barr was at Chi Analytics, and Rando was at KXEN.
posted on Wednesday, March 23, 2011(Full story)
Nexon Boosts Social Games Firm A Bit LuckyLos Angeles-based Nexon America, the North American arm of South Korean videogame developer Nexon, said Tuesday that it has invested $5M in a Silicon Valley social games developer, A Bit Lucky. A Bit Lucky is a developer of such games as the Facebook game Lucky Train. Nexon said it will gain a seat on A Bit Lucky's board, with David Lawee, head of M&A at Google, and Andrew Trader, part of Zynga's founding team, also joining as advisors. A Bit Lucky is also backed by Accel Partners' Seed Fund, Re (More info...)
posted on Wednesday, March 23, 2011 (More)(Full story)