Monday, July 9, 2012Cyber Rain Gets Debt FundingLos Angeles-based Cyber Rain, the developer of smart irrigation controllers, has raised a round of debt funding, according to funder Agility Capital. Size and terms of the debt funding were not announced. Cyber Rain develops smart irrigation controllers, which use information from the internet to conserve water for property managers, schools, parks, and other large water users. According to Agility Capital, the debt facility will go to support Cyber Rain's growth.
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UCLA Engineers Create World's Fastest CameraEngineers at the University of California, Los Angeles have created the world's fatest camera, and are using it to help detect cancer cells and detecting disease, the school said last week. UCLA said that the team at the UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science, led by Bahram Jalali, developed a digital camera able to process 100,000 cells per second in blood samples, approximately 100 times higher than conventional, image-based blood analyzers. Those current analyzers use d (More info...)
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Tech Coast Angels Leads National Angel InvestmentsSouthern California's largest angel investment group, the Tech Coast Angels, looks to be one of the lead investors nationally in angel-backed companies, according to a report released Monday by the Angel Resource institute. The group, along with Silicon valley Bank and CB Insights, released the 1Q 2012 Halo Report, which summarized Q1 angel investments. The Tech Coast Angels was listed both among the top angel groups in terms of total deals, and the top angel groups in terms of healthcare invest (More info...)
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Venture Capital Fundraising On UptickIt looks like it's going to be a good year for venture capital -- fundraising, that is, according to numbers released by Dow Jones Monday. According to Dow Jones, 82 U.S. venture funds raised $13 billion in the first six months of the year, a 31 percent increase in fundraising activity compared with the first half of 2011. Dow Jones did not break down geographic spread of the VC fundraising, but said that the venture capital fundraising was particularly robust in the early stage area, with 43 ea (More info...)
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Hulu Heads To TVIn an interesting reversal of the flow of content from TV to Los Angeles-based Hulu, the online video site apparently has inked its first ever, deal to broadcast its original programming on TV, according to Variety today. Hulu has reportedly signed a deal to make its "Spoilers with Kevin Smith" program on Canadian cable channel Space. Financial details of the deal were not announced. Hulu has recently been developing its own, original slate of content which has so far run exclusively on Hulu.
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Edmunds.com Launches First Television Ad EffortSanta Monica-based Edmunds.com is heading towards television to promote its services, saying today that it has launched a new television ad campaign called "Ask the Car People". Edmunds, which provides online automobile information, said its new, 30-second spot was shot at its Santa Monica headquarters, and is its very first, television ad, ever. Edmunds.com said the TV spot will start airing in Pittsburgh, Portland, Providence and Raleigh, with additional exposure online via Facebook, Twitter, (More info...)
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Xirrus Finds $18.4M MoreThousand Oaks-based wireless equipment maker Xirrus appears to have raised $18.4M more in a funding round, part of an ongoing $25.3M funding, according to a regulatory filing by the company. Xirrus, which makes Wi-Fi switching hardware which provides higher bandwidth and better coverage, particularly in dense wireless environments like schools, campuses, shopping malls, and elsewhere, has not yet announced any details of the funding. According to the filing, representatives of US Venture Partner (More info...)
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RingDNA Gets $650K For Real Time Sales InfoSherman Oaks-based RingDNA, a provider of mobile tools to provide real-time CRM data, social media streams and behavioral marketing information to salespeople, has raised $650,000 in funding, according to a regulatory filing by the firm. No details of the funding have yet been announced by the company. According to the firm's website, its software, RingDNA for Salesfroce.com, pulls in lead and contact data from Salesforce.com, Facebook, Twitter, and business news feeds into an iPad device, helpi (More info...)
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Brentwood Associates Buys Sundance HoldingsLos Angeles-based private equity firm Brentwood Associates, which manages around $650M in capital and focuses on consumer-focused, middle market growth firms, said today that it has acquired a majority stake in Sundance Holdings Group. Sundance is a multi-channel direct marketer which sells women's apparel and accessories, jewelry and home furnishings, and was founded by Robert Redford in 1989. Financial terms of the buy were not disclosed. Brentwood said it was represented by Greenberg Traurig (More info...)
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SweetLabs Updates InstagrilleSan Diego-based Sweetlabs is looking to tap into the huge popularity of the smartphone photo sharing service Instagram, with its own, newly updated app, Instagrille. The firm is releasing a brand new version of Instagrille, which it recently acquired, after creator Denny Denysiuk won a competition from SweetLabs to create software based on its Pokki desktop application software. Instagrille allows users to browse, share, and download pictures from the popular Instagram service. Sweetlabs is head (More info...)
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JMI Equity Backs Capsule TechSan Diego-based private equity firm JMI Equity has backed a developer of medical device technology, Capsule Tech, the firms announced today. Terms of the strategic investment were not announced. Capsule Tech said it has named Gene Cattarina as its CEO as part of the investment. Capsule Tech is based in Andover, Mass. JMI's involvement was led by Harry Gruner. JMI manages over $2.1 billion in capital.
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Interview with Vic Alston, Ixia
What goes into the thought processes of companies when they're acquiring startups and other firms? We thought it would be insightful for our readers--who are usually looking to get acquired by other companies--on what the thought process of those large companies making those acquisitions are. To do that, we spoke with Vic Alston, the CEO of Calabasas-based Ixia (www.ixiacom.com), a publicly traded maker of network testing equipment and software. Ixia is long past the startup phase, having over (More info...)
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Buffalo Studios Launches iOS GameLos Angeles-based Buffalo Studios, a social gaming developer founded by former Electronic Arts (EA) executives, said today that it has released its first, mobile game, for Apple iOS. The company--which has been developing titles for Facebook--said its new mobile game is Bingo Rush, a bingo game based on its popular Facebook title Bingo Blitz. The timed bingo game is free. Buffalo Studios is led by Michael Marchetti.
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Novatel Wireless Gets Wifi Hotspot PatentSan Diego-based Novatel Wireless, the maker of the MiFi mobile hotspot products, reported this morning that it has gained a patent covering that product and its other products. Novatel said it was awarded U.S. Patent No. 8,208,517, covering "Systems and methods for multi-mode wireless modem". The patent filing shows that the patent was awarded to Slim S. Souissi, Michael Loh, and Humphrey GOrdon. The patent was issued on June 26th, and was originally filed on August 28, 2006. The filing indicate (More info...)
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ReachLocal Expands In Central, Eastern EuropeWoodland Hills-based ReachLocal, the provider of online marketing services for small and medium sized businesses, said today that it is expanding internationally, with a deal for a Central and Eastern European franchise. The firm said the franchise, OxataSMB BV, is being led by Dr. Peter Wiedemann, the former CEO of Ataxo, and covers Slovakia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Russia. Financial details of the franchise agreement were not disclosed. ReachLocal said the franchise will use the Re (More info...)
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