Tuesday, August 16, 2011Yardi Acquires Insurance FirmSanta Barbara-based Yardi, which develops real estate investment management and property management software, said Tuesday afternoon that it has acquired Multifamily Insurance Group, a provider of renters insurance products. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Yardi said the buy will allow it to provide renters insurance products to its clients.
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Frontera, Siemer Tie On New Venture Capital EffortSanta Monica-based investment bank "Siemer & Associates and venture capital investment group Frontera Group said Tuesday afternoon that the two have joined forces, and have created a new venture group called Siemer Ventures. According to Managing Director Eric Manlunas, the two firms decided to combine efforts in their investment efforts, however, will operate completely independently of the Siemer & Associates investment banking operations. Frontera Group, which was co-founded by Manlunas, has (More info...)
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ImageCollect.com Grows Celebrity Photo LibraryLos Angeles-based AudioMicro, which operates a network of online content licensing marketplaces for audio, photos, and more, is announcing today that it has grown its library of pictures on site ImageCollect to 1.5 million photos. ImageCollect is focused on celebrity photos, offered up using the microstock photo model. AudioMicro said ImageCollect is adding around 25,000 images per day. ImageCollect is AudioMicro's attempt to apply the microstock model--using amateurs and others willing to licen (More info...)
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Sonos Adds Board Member, Sees $250M In Revenues This YearSanta Barbara-based Sonos, the maker of the user-friendly, multi-room music systems, has named former Microsoft Xbox executive Robbie Bach to its board, and is set to hit $250M in revenues this year. Bach was most recently President of Microsoft's Entertainment and Devices Division, in charge of the Microsoft Xbox. The appointment and revenue numbers came from an interview with John Macfarlane, CEO of Sonos, in the WSJ Tuesday. Sonos music players and systems allow users to play digital music fr (More info...)
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Maverick Angels Names New SoCal PresidentMaverick Angels, an angel investment group investing in Southern California companies, said today that it has named Patrick Henry as its newly elected Southern California Chapter President. Henry replaces Bill Barber, who continues as a member. Barber had served as Southern California Chapter President from February 2010 through July 2011. Henry is a startup investor and advisor, and also has served as an Assistant Professor at USC's Greif Center for Entrepreneurial Studies in the Marshall Schoo (More info...)
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SpaceX Plans Trip To ISSHawthorne-based SpaceX said Monday that it has been given a November 30, 2011 launch date for a trip to the International Space Station. The privately held rocket firm, which is headed by tech mogul Elon Musk, said the mission is designed to demonstrate that a privately-developed space transportation system can deliver cargo to and from the International Space Station. SpaceX said its Dragon will berth with the ISS nine days after launch
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Shamrock Capital Invests $25M In Video Licensing FirmLos Angeles-based private equity firm Shamrock Capital has invested $25M in Thought Equity Motion, a provider of video footage licensing services, Thought Equity Motion said today. Shamrock focuses on investment in the media, entertainment, and communications areas. According to Thought Equity Motion, the funding will go towards technology, cloud storage, and ability to service global customers. Thought Equity Motion allows companies to search for and license footage from entertainment firms, in (More info...)
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CODA Inks Deal With Chinese Auto FirmLos Angeles-based CODA Holdings, the parent firm of CODA Automotive, said late last night that it has inked a deal with Chinese auto firm Great Wall Motor Company Limited. According to CODA, it is in a Letter of Intent to develop electric vehicles with Great Wall. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. CODA said that the electric vehicles will be distributed worldwide, blending key technologies from Great Wall and CODA's Lithium iron phosphate battery system.
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LiveOffice Reports Sales GrowthPrivately held LiveOffice, the provider of cloud-based email archiving, compliance, discovery, and backup services, said today that it had another quarter of record revenue. The firm--which did not disclose actual revenue numbers--said it had a 419 percent, year-over-year increase in the number of mailboxes it is archiving, as a result of enterprise wins. LiveOffice is backed by Summit Partners, and is headed by Nick Mehta.
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FreeConferenceCall.com Adds Disaster Communications ToolsLong Beach-based FreeConferenceCall.com, the provider of free conference calls headed by Dave Erickson, is expanding its lineup of services, saying Monday that it is now offering up disaster communications tools to communities. The firm said that it is looking to assist communities affected by earthquakes, tsunamis, and fires with a free conference and voice messaging service. Specifically, the firm said it will allow for group conferences of up to 96 people, an outgoing voicemail service for st (More info...)
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Z Microsystems Expands ExecsSan Diego-based Z Microsystems, a developer of computers to the US military and defense industry, said today that it has named Richard Schmit as its CFO, Jason Wade as its Vice President of Product, and Randy Millar as Vice President of Engineering. Schmidt was previously at Volvco Construction Equipment and Services, Cybertel Communications, and Iseki; Wade has been at the firm since 2004; and Millar was previously VP Engineering and COO at DigiVision.
posted on Tuesday, August 16, 2011(Full story)