Wednesday, May 25, 2011Altly Posts Anti-Facebook Manifesto, Gets FundingLos Angeles-based Altly, the latest startup of Dmitry Shapiro, the founder of Veoh and former CTO of MySpace Music, has officially thrown down the gauntlet, saying in a blog post this week that it there is a need for an alternative to Facebook--and the firm is going to create that alternative.
In his post, Shapiro talks about how users are being "pressured" to become "friends" with people they would not have had ongoing communication with prior to Facebook, and also have had to share personal i (More info...)
posted on Wednesday, May 25, 2011(Full story)
WebVisible Moves Headquarters To Los AngelesWebVisible, which helps small and medium sized businesses place online advertising, announced Wednesday afternoon that it has moved its headquarters from Irvine, to Los Angeles. WebVisible said it is moving to a new, creative space in Playa Vista, within the Electronics Arts Campus. WebVisible had been in Irvine for 10 years. The firm said the move is a part of an ongoing effort to "re-energize" the company, and to embrace the "collaborative vibe" of the area. As part of the move, the company sa (More info...)
posted on Wednesday, May 25, 2011(Full story)
Mobile Roadie Partners With Rockstar DigitalLos Angeles-based Mobile Roadie, the developer of mobile applications, said this week that it has partnered with digital agency Rockstar Digital. Rockstar Digital helps artists create and manage their digital content, engage with fans, and manage their mobile apps and websites. Details on the partnership were not disclosed. Rockstar Digital is also based in Los Angeles, and was started by former Mobile Roadie employee Rob Swope. Mobile Roadie develops iPhone and Android apps for artists and bran (More info...)
posted on Wednesday, May 25, 2011(Full story)
Insights and Opinions: New Grads, Save Yourself and Start A CompanyWhat do you do if you're a new grad, and are still finding it tough to find a job in technology? Frank Peters, angel investor and podcaster at the Frank Peters Show, says: start your own company, in the latest article in our Insights and Opinions section.
"Is it still hard to find a job?" Professor Mike McCarthy politely answered, yes it is, very difficult; before I started shooting my mouth off I wanted to confirm my assumptions. I was the first to ask a question at last night's UCI School (More info...)
posted on Wednesday, May 25, 2011(Full story)
ShareSquare Links With ShopSavvyLos Angeles-based ShareSquare, the QR code firm headed by Matthias Galica, has inked a partnership with popular mobile barcode scanning firm ShopSavvy, the two said this morning. According to the two companies, ShopSavvy will recommend ShareSquare as its QR Code campaign creation, content management, and deep engagement analytics tool of choice, as part of a ShopSavvy program. In exchange, ShareSquare is recommending ShopSavvy as its QR code reader. Financial details of the deal between the comp (More info...)
posted on Wednesday, May 25, 2011(Full story)
Break Media Taps Doyle, Subar as CFO, CTOLos Angeles-based Break Media, the online video and content publisher headed by Keith Richman, said today that it has tapped Andrew Doyle as its Chief Financial Officer, and David Subar as Chief Technology Officer. Subar was most recently CTO at Oversee.net, and also has been at PeopleLink and Interthinx. Subar also had founded Interna Ltd., a game development firm that created titles for Activision, Interplay, and IBM. Doyle joins the company from Activision-Blizzard, where he was Chief of Staf (More info...)
posted on Wednesday, May 25, 2011(Full story)
Active Network Up Slightly In IPOSan Diego-based The Active Network, which debuted on the NYSE as ACTV this morning, was slightly up in morning trading, at around $15.83 per share. The firm had priced at $15.00 per share last night. The firm had traded as high as $16.25 during morning trading, and as low as $14.75 per share. Active provides online sports registration and community sites. The firm's backers include ESPN, Canaan Partners, and ABS Ventures.
posted on Wednesday, May 25, 2011(Full story)
UberMedia Loses TweetDeck To TwitterAfter months of back and forth rumors about who, exactly, was acquiring Twitter client softwar firm TweetDeck, Twitter officially announced this morning that it has acquired TweetDeck. The rumors came despite early--and incorrect--reports that TweetDeck had been acquired by Pasadena-based UberMedia, the Twitter client software firm headed by Idealab's Bill Gross. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, however, reports place the acquisition around $50M. UberMedia had been battling Twitte (More info...)
posted on Wednesday, May 25, 2011(Full story)
Quantum Fuel Systems Signs Dow ChemicalIrvine-based Quantum Fuel Systems Technologies reports today that it has scored a contract with Dow Chemical Company, to deliver hybrid drive systems to Dow's fleet. the firm said the contract covers delivery of 100+ plug-in-hybrid electric (PHEV) pickup truck fleet vehicles, based on the Ford F-150 pickup. Financial impact of the win was not disclosed. Quantum said it devleoped a new hybrid drive system specifically for the F-150. Dow said the move would convert approximately 5 percent of its U (More info...)
posted on Wednesday, May 25, 2011(Full story)
Qualcomm Completes Atheros Communications BuySan Diego-based Qualcomm said Tuesday evening that it has completed its $3.1 billion acquisition of Atheros Communications. Atheros becomes Qualcomm Atheros, Inc. Qualcomm said the acquisition will allow it to expand its presence in both existing and adjacent businesses, including home, enterprise, and carrier networking. Qualcomm said it would buy Atheros in January.
posted on Wednesday, May 25, 2011(Full story)
Nirvanix Names Channel VPSan Diego-based Nirvanix, the enterprise cloud storage firm, said today that it has named Tracey Halama as its Vice President of Worldwide Channels. Halama has previously served as Director of Channel Sales at CommVault, and also was at EMC. Nirvanix operates a cloud-based storage service, which it is aiming at enterprise customers for backup, archiving, and other purposes.
posted on Wednesday, May 25, 2011(Full story)
Active Network Prices IPOSan Diego-based The Active Network, the operator of sports and community event registration services and websites, priced its IPO Wednesday evening, saying it will sell 11,000,000 shares of its common stock at $15.00 per share. The firm starts trading on the New York Stock Exchange this morning, as ACTV. Active priced below its expected initial offering range, which was $16.00 to $18.00 per share. Active's IPO is being underwritten by BofA Merrill Lynch, Citi, Allen & Company LLC, Stifel Nicolau (More info...)
posted on Wednesday, May 25, 2011(Full story)
THQ Inks Distribution DealAgoura Hills-based THQ said Wednesday that it has inked a distribution deal with Codemasters, to distribute four games for that firm. THQ said it will distribute DiRT 3, operation Flashpoint Red River, BODYCOUNT, and F1 2011 for Codemasters in North America. Financial details of the arrangement were not disclosed.
posted on Wednesday, May 25, 2011(Full story)