Thursday, July 14, 2011Steamboat Re-Ups On Mobile Measurement Firm Ground TruthBurbank-based Steamboat Ventures, the venture capital arm of Walt Disney, has re-upped its investment in a provider of mobile and Internet usage analytics and measurement tools. According to Seattle, Washington-based Ground Truth, it has raised another $8M in funding, from North Bridge Venture Partners, Steamboat Ventures, Voyager Capital, Emergence Capital, and OPENAIR Equity Partners. The new funding came in conjunction with the merger of the company with Umber Systems, based in Massachusetts. (More info...)
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Aptera Finds $2.2MCarlsbad-based Aptera Motors, the beleagured developer of a three wheeled, electric vehicle, has raised $2.2M in what appears to be a convertible debt round. The funding came to light via a regulatory filing earlier this month. The filing indicates the company is in the midst of a $3.0M debt and warrant round. Aptera's efforts appear to be at a standstill, with the firm most recently reporting in May that it is considering a move out of state to take advantage of incentives and lower "structura (More info...)
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Namesake Rolls Visual Discovery ToolLos Angeles-based Namesake, the real time discussion and conversations web site created by serial entrepreneurs Brian Norgard and Dan Gould, has just swizzled its conversation discovery tools on the site. The firm said it has launched a new Discover tool which visually shows the images and conversations going on at the site, categorized by tags and topics. The tool--in a very visual way--allows users to click on tiles representing health, music, sports, religion, and more, to get access to conve (More info...)
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SoCalGas Invests In CompanySouthern California Gas Co., the subsidiary of Sempra Energy which provides natural gas to the Southern California market, said today that it has invested in
Tecogen, a developer of natural gas heating and power products. Size of the investment were not disclosed. Tecogen's equipment uses natural gas to provide both heat and power to commercial and industrial facilities. SoCalGas specifically pinpointed the ability of Tecogen's technology to help meet California emissions standards, which the (More info...)
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AeroVironment Selected By Washington StateMonrovia-based AeroVironment said this week that it has been selected by the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT), to install nine fast charging stations on Interstate 5 and US 2. AeroVironment said it was selected from among six competitive bids in the $1M budget opportunity. AeroVironment said it will manufacture, supply, install, and operate a network of nine, fast-charging stations for electric vehicles, spread out every 40 to 60 miles along the I-5. The stations are expecte (More info...)
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Sonos Jumps On Spotify BandwagonSanta Barbara-based Sonos said today that it is has added the new, Spotify streaming music service to the list of supported streaming music providers on its multi room music systems. Sonos said the integration allows Spotify Premium users to access 13 million songs on their Sonos systems. Spotify--which has been available for several years in Europe--just launched its streaming music service in the U.S. Sonos also supports streaming services form Pandora, Rhapsody, SiriusXM, MOG, Napster, and ot (More info...)
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Twitter Users Get Scoop On JetBlue $4 Carmageddon DealUsers of the Twitter micro-blogging service snapped up a special, JetBlue promotional offer yesterday offering up $4 flights between Long Beach Airport and Burbank's Bob Hope Airport Saturday, selling out the special flight offer in less than 4 hours. JetBlue--in a marketing promotion--added two special, nonstop flights, promoted via Twitter around 12:30 yesterday, which quickly sold out after a storm of Twitter messages and retweets. The special flights were scheduled by JetBlue as a promotion (More info...)
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Hulu Plus Extends On AndroidLos Angeles-based video site Hulu said late Wednesday evening that it has extended rollout of its Hulu Plus Android application to four more smartphones. Hulu said it now supports the HTC Evo 4G, HTC ThunderBolt, HTC myTouch 4G and G2 with the app, on top of existing support for the Nexus One, Nexus S, HTC Inspire 4G, Motorola Droid II, Motorola Droid X, and the Motorola Atrix. Hulu rolled out its premium video streaming services for Android three weeks ago, and has been ironing out device-by-de (More info...)
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Newport Corporation Buys Laser FirmIrvine-based Newport Corporation said Wednesday that it is in a deal to acquire High Q Technologies GmbH, an Austrian developer and manufacturer of lasers. Newport Corporation did not disclose financial details of the deal, however, did say that High Q expects 2011 revenues of approximately $20M, and is profitable. High Q is based in Rankweil, Austria. The laser firm will become part of Newport Corporations's Spectra-Physics Lasers Division. High-Q has approximately 70 employees worldwide. The a (More info...)
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Apriso Wins Aerospace CustomerLong Beach-based Apriso, which develops manufacturing operations management software, said yesterday that it has been selected by Messier Dowty, a member of the Safran Group, to help manage that firm's manufacturing and quality operations. Financial details of the win were not disclosed. Messier Dowty designs, manufactures, and supports landing gear systems for commercial, military aircraft, and helicopters.
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Naviscan Bolsters BoardSan Diego-based Naviscan, the developer of 3D medical imaging technology, said today that it has added Andre Cheng, M.D., Ph.D., to its board of directors. Cheng has previously served as VP of Medical Affairs and Reimbursement at Acclarent, in addition to serving at Ethicon and The Advisory Board Company. Naviscan develops compact, high-resolution PET scanners used in surgery. The firm is venture backed by Mayo Medical Ventures, QuestMark Partners, Sanderling Ventures, and Walker Ventures.
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