Tuesday, January 31, 2012Platinum Equity Sells Portfolio Firm Canvas SystemsLos Angeles-based private equity firm Platinum Equity has sold one of its portfolio companies, Canvas Systems, a supplier of refurbished IT hardware and services. Canvas Systems was sold to electronics distributor Avnet. Financial terms of the sale were not disclosed. Platinum Equity had acquired Canvas Systems in April of 2009.
posted on Tuesday, January 31, 2012(Full story)
Hulu Plans Super Bowl PushLos Angeles-based Hulu said Tuesday that it is planning a big push of its Hulu Plus subscription service, with a Super Bowl XLVI advertising campaign. The new campaign--a spin on its 2009 Alec Baldwin ad--features actor Will Arnett and the Hollywood sign, plus the hashtag "mushymush". Hulu did not say how much it is spending on the advertisement, which is due to air during the Super Bowl XLVI this weekend. The firm has already posted a teaser ad on its own, Super Bowl advertising section of its (More info...)
posted on Tuesday, January 31, 2012(Full story)
BUZZMEDIA Snags Sales VP From BreakLos Angeles-based BUZZMEDIA, the online music blog publisher and pop culture publishing firm which owns Celebuzz, Idolator, Stereogum, and other sites, is continuing a hiring roll today, saying it has named Michael Ziegler as Senior Vice President, Sales. BUZZMEDIA said Ziegler will head up sales efforts in the Midwest and Eastern areas. Ziegler was previously VP of Sales at Break Media, and also served at Yahoo and TIME Magazine, among other positoins. The new hire comes only a week after BUZZM (More info...)
posted on Tuesday, January 31, 2012(Full story)
EdgeCast Doubles Revenues, HeadcountSanta Monica-based EdgeCast Networks, the content delivery network (CDN) provider headed by Alex Kazerani, said today that it doubled its annual revenues and headcount in 2011, over its 2010 numbers. The privately held firm--which did not disclose actual revenue numbers--said the growth came as a result of its strategy of offering both direct sales and white-labeled CDN services. EdgeCast said it added more than a thousand customers in 2011, including such sites as DailyMotion, Imgur, and poster (More info...)
posted on Tuesday, January 31, 2012(Full story)
Cocodot Shifts Into Jewelry, GiftsHollywood-based Cocodot, the online invitations startup headed by former MySpace exec Shawn Gold, has made a subtle shift into the e-commerce sector in recent days, adding jewelry, chocolates, gifts, and more to the site. The startup--which previously offered up upscale online greeting cards--now features valentine's day gifts and chocolates, gifts, a new line of jewelry, and other products to its users. It's unclear when the shift happened, although the company just began emailing users about i (More info...)
posted on Tuesday, January 31, 2012(Full story)
Rustic Canyon Backs Social Babysitting Service UrbanSitterLos Angeles-based venture capital investor Rustic Canyon Partners is backing the developer of a service which uses parents' social graphs to help connect them with babysitters. According to San Francisco-based UrbanSitter, it has raised $1.75M in a round, which was led by First Round Capital and also included Rustic Canyon Partners, Menlo Ventures, and angels. Rustic Canyon's Neil Hansch was involved in the deal, and will join the company's board along with Rob Hayes of First Round. UrbanSitter (More info...)
posted on Tuesday, January 31, 2012 (More)(Full story)
Nimble Expands In EuropeSanta Monica-based Nimble, the developer of customer relationship management and contact management software headed by former Goldmine founder Jon Ferrara, is expanding its international efforts today. The firm said it has hired Richard Young as Director of EMEA, to head up its efforts in the region. Young rejoins Ferrara after stints at BMC Software, AVG, and other firms; Young had first worked with Ferrara in 1996 when he was Technical Director of AVG, the UK distributor of Goldmine. The expan (More info...)
posted on Tuesday, January 31, 2012(Full story)
GraphEffect Taps Social Media Experts For Advisory BoardSanta Monica-based GraphEffect, which develops social marketing software, is tapping a bank of experts in the social media industry for its advisory board, the company announced today. GraphEffect said it has added Paul Ollinger, J.B. Kropp and Hari Menon to the advisory board. Ollinger was an earlier employee at Facebook, and also served at Launch.com and Yahoo. Kropp is at Twitter in Strategic Partnerships, and also served at Virtrue, The Brandery, ShareThis, and Sharkle.com. Menon was most re (More info...)
posted on Tuesday, January 31, 2012(Full story)
InTouch Health Gains $6M From iRobotSanta Barbara-based InTouch Health, a developer of remote presence technology and robotics for the healthcare market, has scored a $6M investment from iRobot. iRobot said the investment gives it a minority position in InTouch, and is an expansion of a joint development and licensing agreement between the two companies. The two are working on combining iRobot's platforms with healthcare applications. InTouch's robots are used to allow physicians to remotely work with patients.
posted on Tuesday, January 31, 2012 (More)(Full story)
MOGL Gets $10MSan Diego-based MOGL, which operates a customer loyalty program for restaurants focused on game mechanics, said today that it has raised $10M in a round of funding. The second round came from Sigma Partners, Austin Ventures, and Avalon Ventures. The firm said the new funds go towards expansion into new target markets. MOGL offers incentives and competitions to spur visits to restaurants. MOGL is headed by Jon Carder.
posted on Tuesday, January 31, 2012 (More)(Full story)
StockTwits Ties With Investor Relations Web DeveloperSan Diego-based StockTwits, the online, finance-focused messaging service, said today that it has partnered with Q4 Web Systems, a developer of corporate websites and social media products for public companies. The two said that Q4 will integrate StockTwits products and services as part of its offering for public companies. Q4's software powers Investors Relations sites for a wide variety of public companies. Financial details of the deal were not disclosed. StockTwits has recently expanded its (More info...)
posted on Tuesday, January 31, 2012(Full story)
MomentFeed Partners With FoursquareSanta Monica-based MomentFeed, the location analytics and marketing software development firm headed by Rob Reed, said today that it has partnered with location check-in company Foursquare. According to the two companies, the partnership will allow MomentFeed to claim venues on behalf of its its clients, providing an interface to manage hundreds or thousands of locations. Financial terms of the partnership were not disclosed. The two said the link will make it easier for brands to manage venue d (More info...)
posted on Tuesday, January 31, 2012(Full story)
JOT Automation Sets Up In San DiegoJOT Automation, a firm providing automation and test products for the electronics industry, said today that it has set up its U.S. headquarters in San Diego. The firm--which is based in Finland--said it will be expanding its team in the San Diego location as a part of the move. As part of the move, the company said it has been in the U.S. since 1995, but moved to the area due to work with San Diego commercialization and defense support company Diagnostics and Defense Technology Analysts (DTA). T (More info...)
posted on Tuesday, January 31, 2012(Full story)
Teledyne Signs Oil and Gas DealhHousand Oaks-based electronics and instrumentation firm Teledyne Technologies announced this morning that its Teledyne Oil & Gas group has scored a three year agreement with FMC Technologies, to provide interconnect and sensing products and services for FMC's offshore oil and gas business. Size of the deal was not disclosed. Teledyne said that products from multiple divisions, including Teledyne ODI, Teledyne D.G. O'Brien, Teledyne Cormon, and Teledyne Scientific Company are all included in the (More info...)
posted on Tuesday, January 31, 2012(Full story)
Qualcomm Powers EreaderSan Diego-based Qualcomm MEMS Technologies, which is a subsidiary of Qualcomm, reports today that it is powering a new e-reader from Taiwanese manufacturer Koobe. Qualcomm said its mirasol display technology is being featured in Koobe's Jin Yong Reader, an electronic book reader named after a Chinese author. Qualcomm did not say how the win impacts the firm financially, nor what kind of shipment volumes it expects from the deal. Qualcomm's mirasol display technology is a MEMs-based, electronic-p (More info...)
posted on Tuesday, January 31, 2012(Full story)
Guidance Software Expands Cloud SupportPasadena-based Guidance Software, which develops digital forensics software and tools, said today that it has expanded its cloud-based data collection support. The company said its updated software now has additional ability to collect stored information from cloud-based data services, and a new way to search evidence collected from previous cases by the software. Guidance Software's products are used to manage electronic discovery of email and other corporate data.
posted on Tuesday, January 31, 2012(Full story)