Wednesday, August 3, 2011Twentieth Century Fox In Angry Birds Plush Toys DealFans of the popular smartphone game Angry Birds, developed by videogame maker Rovio, can indulge their passion for the game through a new line of plush, stuffed toys, according to Century City-based Twentieth Century Fox this week. Twentieth century Fox said that Angry Birds-style plush characters based on Twentieth Century's RIO movie will be available via Toys"R"Us stores this month. Financial details of the deal were not disclosed. Twentieth Century Fox and Rovio inked a partnership in March (More info...)
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Cynvenio Biosystems Bolsters BoardWestlake Village-based Cynvenio Biosystems, a developer of medical diagnostics technology, said Wednesday that it has bolstered its board of directors with two appointments. According to Cynvenio, Amit Munshi and Simon Raab have joined the firm's board. Munshi is President and CEO of Percivia, and was the co-founder and former Chief Business Officer at Kythera Biopharmaceuticals. He also had served as head of Amgen's European Nephrology Business, in addition to positions at Astra Merck and IOLAB (More info...)
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Craton Equity Leads Major Investment In BridgeluxLos Angeles-based private equity fund Craton Equity Partners said Wednesday that it has led a $60M round of investment in Bridgelux, a developer and manufacturer of LED lighting technology. Bridgelux, which is based in Livermore, California, develops solid state lighting light sources. Craton Equity Partners said other investors in the round included VantagePoint Capital Partners, DCM, El Dorado Ventures, Novus Energy Partners, Invus Group, VTS, Harris & Harris Group and Passport Capital. Craton (More info...)
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SendGrid Sets Up Shop In AnaheimCloud-based, email infrastructure provider SendGrid, which develops cloud software to help businesses more easily deliver emails to customers, has set up shop in Anaheim, California, the firm said Wednesday. SendGrid--which is venture backed by venture capital firms Foundry Group and Highway 12 Ventures--said it has set up an Anaheim office as part of the hiring of a new Vice President of Engineering, Thomas Albers. SendGrid said it opened up the new office to tap the local talent pool in the gr (More info...)
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Hulu Rolls Out Documentary SeriesLos Angeles-based Hulu is rolling out its first, long-form, original content series, the firm said today, with a new documentary series, "A Day in the Life" from filmmaker Morgan Spurlock. Hulu said the series will include episodes feature Richard Branson, will.i.am, comedian Russell Peters, and others on its Hulu Plus and Hulu subscriptions beginning on August 17th. Spurlock was behind the movies "Super Size Me," "Greatest Movie Ever Sold," and "30 Days". The series will air as six, half hour e (More info...)
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TrueCar Adds AutoNation COO To BoardSanta Monica-based TrueCar, the online provider of new car pricing reports, announced today that it has added Mike Maroone, President and Chief Operating Officer of AutoNation, to the firm's board of directors. TrueCar said that AutoNation is the country's largest automotive retailer. Maroone has been at AutoNation since 1997, and has been President and COO of the company since 1999. TrueCar, which is headed by Scott Painter, provides pricing reports to both consumers and car dealers, based on a (More info...)
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Anthem, DFJ Frontier Back JanrainTwo Los Angeles area venture capital firms have re-upped their investments in a provider of identity management software. Anthem Ventures, represented by Samit Varma, and DFJ Frontier, represented by David Cremin, are two of the investors in Portland-based JanRain, whose software is used to allow websites to use existing online accounts such as Facebook, Google, Twitter, and Yahoo to sign up for other web services or even corporate applications. JanRain said it has raised $15.5M in its new round (More info...)
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SocialVibe Aims Product At PoliticsLos Angeles-based SocialVibe, the online advertising firm run by Jay Samit, said today that it has launched a new, political advertising solution ahead of the 2012 elections. The firm--which sells online ads based on engagement metrics, rather than the usual clicks and views--said it is applying its model to the political landscape, looking to help campaigns get their word out on social networking sites like Facebook. The firm said it is offering up videos, polls, quizzes, and other tools to eng (More info...)
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Okapi Ventures Kicks Off Fundraising EffortsLaguna Beach-based Okapi Venture Capital, the venture capital fund run by Marc Averitt and Sharon Stevenson, has kicked off fundraising efforts for a new, $30M venture fund, according to a regulatory filing by the firm Tuesday. The filing indicates Okapi Ventures II, L.P. has a target of $30M. Okapi is an investor in such companies as PathCentral, My Damn Channel, OrthAlign, RF Nano, and others; the firm's first exit was the sale of Carslbad-based Helixis in July of last year for $105M, which th (More info...)
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Newport Corporation Completes High Q Technologies BuyIrvine-based Newport Corporation said Tuesday that it has completed its acquisition of High Q Technologies GmbH, a developer and manufacturer of lasers. Financial details of the acquisition were not disclosed. Newport said it expects High Q to have revenues in 2011 of approximately $20M. High Q is a developer of femtosecond lasers used for surgical procedures.
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Telogis Names CFOAliso Viejo-based Telogis, the provider of route planning and fleet management software, announced today that it has named Kyle A. Messman as its Chief Financial officer. Messman has been at the firm for the last few years serving as VP of Corporate Development. Messman has previously served at International Rectifier, Cappello Capital, and Novell Technology Capital, among other firms.
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Acacia Hires Two ExecsNewport Beach-based Acacia Research, the patent licensing firm, said this morning that it has hired on two new executives. The firm said it has hired Alfredo M. Lezama and Nathan Grossman as Vice Presidents of Business Development. Lezama was previously VP of Sales at NextWave Wireless, and also has served at Marvell Semiconductor and Texas Instruments; Grossman was at Altera, and also has served at Qualcomm and Intel.
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