Thursday, June 30, 2011Contour Energy Targeting $20M In Series CAsuza-based Contour Energy Systems, which develops advanced battery technology looks to be targeting $20M for its Series C round, with at least $9.0M raised so far, according to a regulatory filing by the firm this week. Contour said last week that it had raised a Series C funding round from Singapore Investment fund EDBI, CMEA Capital, Harris & Harris, Schlumberger, and U.S. Venture Partners, but had not disclosed details of the funding. It's unclear what portion of that $20M was included in th (More info...)
posted on Thursday, June 30, 2011(Full story)
Paperlinks Launches QR Codes For Restaurants, WineriesLos Angeles-based Paperlinks, the provider of QR code software and mobile apps, said Thursday that it has started providing its products to the food and beverage market. The firm said it has signed up a number of restaurants and wineries as customers, who are using Paperlinks QR codes on menus, wine labels, and elsewhere. Paperlinks is headed by Hamilton Chan. QR codes are 2-D barcodes which link mobile phones to additional information and mobile applications.
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Savings.com: The California Internet Tax Law and Unintended ConsequencesLast night, Gov. Jerry Brown signed into law a bill which taxes Internet retailers if they have California affiliates, a move which looks to have major impact on local companies who use Internet affiliate marketing. As part of that, Amazon.com, Overstock.com, and a large number of e-commerce retailers have cut off their California affiliates, saying that they will immediately stop paying them for referrals due to the move.
This morning, we spoke to Thomas Swalla, the COO of Santa Monica-based (More info...)
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DOE Offers $4.5 Billion In Loans To Boost California Solar PowerIn another boost for the solar power boom in Southern California, the U.S. Department of Energy said Thursday that it is offering up nearly $4.5 billion in loans, for three, California photovoltaic solar power plant projects. The loans, announced by U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu this morning, will provide a $680 million loan guarantee to the Antelope Valley Solar Ranch 1 project, $1.88 billion in loans for the Desert Sunlight project in Riverside County, and $1.93 billion in loans for the Top (More info...)
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Michael Robertson Gets Win In Linspire SpatSan Diego entrepreneur Michael Robertson claims he has scored a win in a lawsuit against the former CEO and CFO of Linspire. According to legal documents released by Robertson, former CEO Kevin Carmony and former CFO Chad Olson are liable for fraud, conspiracy, breach of fiduciary duty, and other counts in a spat over disagreements after Linspire was sold to Xandros. Carmony had been conducting a highly visible and vocal campaign against Robertson in the sale to Xandros in 2008, claiming that Ro (More info...)
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Bizzy Updates iPhone, Android AppsBizzy, the personalized, local recommendations site owned by Woodland Hills-based ReachLocal, said today that it has made some major updates to its iPhone and Android apps. According to the firm, it has added the ability to follow friends from Facebook and Twitter; view streams from friends; check out nearby activity; and more. Bizzy launched its site in June of last year, focusing in on the social aspects in November, and rolled out the iPhone app in December.
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StockTwits Launches Android AppSan Diego-based StockTwits, the stock micro-messaging and information site run by Howard Lindzon, said today that it has released an app for Android. The firm said its StockTwits Real Time App for Android allows users to view and share information on StockTwits, in real time. The new app is free.
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Group: California Internet Tax Bill Will Harm California Web BusinessesCalifornia's move yesterday to tax out-of-state, e-commerce retailers, will cause "immediate devastating loss of income" to web-based business in California, says a group focused on the affiliate marketing industry. According to the Performance Marketing Association, the signing of ABX1 28, an attempt to balance California's budget, will lead to "dramatic income loss of small businesses and job loss". The bill requires out-of-state retailers to collect sales tax on purchases if they have any aff (More info...)
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Interview with Howard Marks, Gamzee
Earlier this month, Los Angeles-based Gamzee (www.gamzee.com), a new game company founded by Howard Marks, the co-founder of Activision and Acclaim Games, announced a seed round of funding. We caught up with Howard to hear about what Gamzee is all about, and where he thinks the next big thing in games is going to be.
What is Gamzee all about?
Howard Marks: We started our business in April. The reason we started, is that we realized that Facebook would soon be releasing a new version of (More info...)
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Tenex Health Raises $5MLake Forest-based Tenex Health, a developer of minimally invasive for treating tendon injuries, said today that it has raised $5M in a series A financing round. The funding was led by VCI Partners. Tenex said the new funding comes on top of an earlier, $1.7M in seed financing. The company will use the funding for sales, marketing, and manufacturing of its product. The firm received FDA 501(k) clearance on its device in February.
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