Thursday, April 7, 2011SolarReserve Raises $20M MoreSanta Monica-based SolarReserve, the developer of utility scale, solar thermal power plants, has raised $20M in a Series C funding round. The funding was disclosed via a regulatory filing Thursday. Source of the new funding was not disclosed. The new funding brings SolarReserve's total raised to over $160M. The firm has previously raised funds from Argonaut Private Equity, Citi, Credit Suisse, Good Energies, Nimes Capital, PCG Clean Energy & Technology Fund, and US Renewables Group. The filing i (More info...)
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SDVG Taps Windward's Titus As Full Time PresidentThe San Diego Venture Group said this week that it has tapped David Titus, co-founder of venture capital firm Windward Ventures, as full time President of the organization. According to the SDVG, Titus will lead the group in a "new level of engagement" with the investment community. Titus co-founded and is Managing Director at Windward Ventures, and also is Managing Director, Strategic Initiatives for the San Diego Regional Economic Development Corporation, member of the Executive Committee at C (More info...)
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BeachMint Partners With Olsen Twins On New SiteLos Angeles-based BeachMint has launched the second set of celebrity-focused, social commerce websites today, with the Olsen Twins, Ashley Olsen and Mary-Kate Olsen. According to Dualstar Entertainment Group, the Olsen's lifestyle and brand company, they have partnered with BeachMint to launch StyleMint, an online apparel site. The new site will include exclusive apparel, trend reports, videos, and other information. Financial arrangements of the deal were not announced. BeachMint is the latest (More info...)
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RealPractice Rolls iPhone AppSanta Ana-based RealPractice, the legal software firm headed by Carey Ransom, said this week that it has released iPhone and iPad applications. The firm said its new My RealPractice app allows legal professionals to manage and respond to client leads, track their online and offline marketing campaigns, and track hours and billing, among other features. The new app is free. RealPractice is venture backed by Rustic Canyon Partners and Miramar Venture Partners. The firm develops software, marketing (More info...)
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Active.com Expands Daily Deals Site Schwaggle NationwideSan Diego-based Active.com announced this morning that it is taking its new daily deals site, Schwaggle, nationwide. The service--which just launched the daily deals effort in February--said it will now offer deals in new York, Los Angeles, and Chicago, with a plan to roll out to 25 major markets by the end of the year, and internationally in 2012. The daily deals are all focused on sports and other fitness-related activities. Active offers its Schwaggle deals via email, Facebook, and through th (More info...)
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Interview with Todd Jerry, Marmol RadzinerMany local entrepreneurs might know Todd Jerry, formerly a venture capitalist at Anthem Venture Partners. Todd is now Chief Operating Officer of Marmol Radziner (www.marmol-radziner.com), an architecture and construction company, which recently installed a eco-friendly mobile home park project in Santa Monica which was focused on applying clean and eco-friendly technologies to the pre-fab building market. Todd has a unique view, having worked both on the venture and high technology investing sid (More info...)
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Slacker In Internet Explorer 9 PromoSan Diego-based Slacker, the personalized Internet radio service, said today that it has linked with Microsoft's new Internet Explorer 9 (IE9) browser. As part of the launch of IE9, the firm said it will provide a free month of its premium service, Slacker Radio Plus, when users "pin" the service to the IE9 taskbar. One of the new features in IE9 is the ability to "pin" sites to the browser, showing a logo that links directly to the site, and also allows those sites to send notifications to user (More info...)
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Technicolor Launches Cloud Storage ServiceTechnicolor, which serves the motion picture, television, and media industry, said this morning that it has launched a new cloud-based media storage service. The firm, which has U.S. operations in Hollywood, said it has partnered with data storage provider NetApp on the service. Pricing and details of the cloud storage service were not announced, however, Technicolor said its media Storage Service will help content owners, aggregators, and distributors as they shift from physical to digital medi (More info...)
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Legendary Pictures Gets $40M From AccelBurbank-based Legendary Pictures, the co-producer of The Dark Knight, has scored $40M in an investment from venture capital firm Accel Partners, according to Forbes. Legendary Pictures was founded by Thomas Tull, and has previously raised funding from ABRY Partners, AIG, Bank of America, Columbia Capital, Falcon investment Advisors, and M/C Venture Partners. The funding was revealed in the latest Forbes Midas List.
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QAD Wins Automotive ManufacturerSanta Barbara-based QAD, the developer of manufacturing resource planning software, said today that SMR Automotive Services, a unit of Samvardhana Motherson Group, is using the firm's applications at all of its sites. Financial details of the win were not announced. SMR Automotive Services is a manufacturer of external review mirrors for passenger cars. QAD's software is being used at SMR's 16 manufacturing plants to manage its manufacturing operations.
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