Wednesday, April 13, 2011


SpaceX Eyes IPO
Hawthorne-based SpaceX, the commercial rocket firm of technology mogul Elon Musk, is reportedly looking to add itself to the list of Southern California technology firms aiming at at IPO. According to Musk at a conference Tuesday, the firm is considering an IPO filing sometime next year. SpaceX recently announced plans to develop the largest rocket since the Saturn V, the Falcon Heavy. Musk already has a recent IPO under his belt, with Tesla Motors, his electric car startup, having gone IPO in J (More info...)
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Adconion Names Wiseman North American COO
Adconion Media Group, the online advertising network firm which has its North American headquarters in Santa Monica, said today that it has named Bruce Wiseman as Chief Operating Officer for North America. Wiseman was most recently EVP and CFO at Fox Audience Network. He also has served as SVP Finance and Operations at Veoh Networks, and roles at Yahoo!, Disney, and PricewaterhouseCoopers. Wiseman reports to Adconion CEO Tyler Moebius. Adconion has been in major expansion mode in Santa Monica, a (More info...)
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EdgeCast Application Delivery Network Enters GA
Santa Monica-based EdgeCast Networks, the operator of a content delivery network (CDN), said today that it has entered into general availability of its new Application Delivery Network service. The new service is focused on serving up web applications and dynamic customers for its customers. The firm has been in beta since December on the service, which is being used by such customers as Gawker Media. EdgeCast says the service is targeted at customized information portals, e-commerce application (More info...)
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Harmon Kardon Founder Sidney Harman Dies
Philanthropist and entrepreneur Sidney Harman, founder of Harmon Kardon and husband of former Rep. Jane Harman, died Wednesday, according to a statement from the family. Harman founded Southern California's Harman International, which now owns Harman/Kardon, Infinity, JBL, and other audio equipment brands. Sidney Harman also recently acquired news magazine Newsweek. Harman died from complications from acute myeloid leukemia. Harman had homes in both Los Angeles and Washington, DC, both locations (More info...)
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Rustic Canyon Boosts Optical Switching Firm
Los Angeles-based venture capital firm Rustic Canyon Partners has re-upped its investment in optical switching firm Capella Intelligent Subsystems. Capella said it raised $20M today for its wavelength selective switches, used in the reconfigurable optical add/drop multiplexer (ROADM) market. The new, oversubscribed round was led by Black Diamond Ventures, and also included SingTel Innov8, Levensohn Partners, Formative Ventures, Lucas Venture Group and Rustic Canyon Ventures. Capella is based in (More info...)
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Mogreet Connects With Facebook
Los Angeles-based Mogreet, the mobile video advertising firm headed by James Citron, announced today that it has launched a new, Facebook marketing service via Facebook Connect. The firm said it has added a new feature allowing consumers to share videos from Mogreet advertisers on their Facebook news feed, via a single click. Mogreet said the new feature will allow advertisers to track the number of postings to Facebook and views of videos. Mogreet is venture backed by Ascend Venture Group, Blac (More info...)
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Verve Wireless Expands Exec Team
San Diego-based Verve Wireless, the developer of mobile publishing and advertising applications, announced today that it has hired two executives. Verve said that it has appoint Dan Hodges as Chief Revenue Officer, and Aimee Irwin as SVP Business Development and Publisher Network. Hodges was most recently Head of Global Sales at the Associated Press, and also has served at Nokia Interactive, Enpocket, and Discovery Communications. Irwin was most recently VP of Strategy and Corporate Development (More info...)
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AeroVironment Gets $14.8M Order
Monrovia-based AeroVironment, the developer of unmanned aircraft systems, said Tuesday afternoon that it has inked a $14.8 million order. The order came from the U.S. Army, and was for its digital Raven retrofit kits. Aerovironment's Raven is a 4.2 pound unmanned aircraft used for reconnaissance, surveillance, and targeting. The firm said the contract came under an existing contract with the U.S. Army.
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FutureLogic Bolsters South American Presence
Glendale-based FutureLogic, a supplier of thermal printers and technology, said yesterday that it has expanded in South America. The firm named Emilio Machado as head of New Business Development in South America as part of the move. FutureLogic said that Machado will report to John Edmunds, VP International Markets.
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