Thursday, July 26, 2012Vizio Co-Star: Going, Going, Gone!Were you hoping to get your hands on one of those new VIZIO Co-Star devices--which turns any HDTV into a smart television, thanks to Google? Well, you're going to have to wait a little longer. Apparently, the company just sold out of its pre-orders of the device, in less than 12 hours, due to a huge rush on the device. VIZIO announced the device in June. The Co-Star plugs into any HDTV, and allows users to run web apps, browse the web, and stream video, using Google TV as its software. VIZIO lau (More info...)
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Mobile Roadie Debuts White Label ProgramLos Angeles-based Mobile Roadie, the mobile app developer which powers a number of celebrity and other mobile apps, is looking to expand the distribution of its tools, via a new white label platform. Mobile Roadie said it will let companies resell its mobile platform, something which is idea for creative and marketing agencies, which will not include any Mobile Roadie branding. The new effort recruits creative and marketing agencies -- supported with marketing collateral and training materials - (More info...)
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Demand Media Ties Into Olympics With ContentLos Angeles-based online content publisher Demand Media is getting into an Olympics mood, saying Thursday afternoon that it has launched an Olympics-related series, Taking London, a special series which will be featured on the LIVESTRONG Woman YouTube channel. Demand Media said that the feature will follow four female athletes as they pursue their dream of computing in the 2012 Olympic Summer Games. The company also said it is part of the YouTube¹s Creators Invade London Initiative, which will (More info...)
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Impinj Raises $21M, But Drops IPO EffortImpinj, a developer of UHF, radio frequency identification (RFID) chips which has linked to Caltech, and an office in Orange County, said today that it has raised $21M in an equity funding round, as well as dropped its plans for an IPO. Impinj said the funding came from AllianceBernstein L.P., ARCH Venture Partners, GF Private Equity Group, Intel Corporation, Madrona Venture Group, Mobius Venture Capital and Polaris Venture Partners. Impinj is based in Seattle, but also has an engineering office (More info...)
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Teeology.com, Brian Lee's Latest Startup, Opens SignupsLos Angeles-based Teeology, the latest startup backed by tech entrepreneur Brian Lee (ShoeDazzle, LegalZoom), has started signing up users today, telling people via email and Twitter that they can now sign up for the service. The service, which combines celebrity the celebrity power of Jennifer Lopez with the startup chops of Brian Lee and MJ Eng, said it is offering up a limited-edition set of luxury, design-centric tees, selected by its members as "winning tees". Lee is well known for his succ (More info...)
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JustFab Lands Huge, $76M Round For Fashion StartupEl Segundo-based JustFab, the fashion subscription site led by Adam Goldenberg and Don Ressler, announced Thursday morning that it has raised a gigantic, $76M in a funding round. The new funding for the site was led by Rho Ventures, and also included Matrix Partners, Technology Crossover Ventures, and Intelligent Beauty. JustFab said the funding will go towards international expansion, to move into additional fashion categories, and for future acquisitions. As part of the funding, Mark Leschly o (More info...)
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Pop-up Pantry Finds $1.7M In FundingLos Angeles-based Pop-Up Pantry, one of the companies in the Launchpad LA accelerator, has disclosed a $1.7M seed funding round, led by GRP Partners, CrossCut Ventures, Adam Goldenberg (JustFab), and Michel Daher (of Daher Foods). The startup, founded by David Hauslaib and Tom Balamaci, operates a subscription service which ships out three-course, frozen meals to people which have been developed by top chefs. Pop-Up Pantry has been in beta since April. The firm is aiming at consumers who don't h (More info...)
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Findmypast.com Sets Up Shop In VeniceFindmypast.com, a British family history website, said today that it has launched--and has set up a new office in Venice, California, to run its U.S. operations. Findmypast runs an online, family history and genealogy site which provides genealogical records, in particular, a rich collection of British, Irish, and Australian records dating back to 1200. The firm said its goal is to become the "go-to" site for Americans of British and Irish ancestries. Findmypast.com is entering a competitive mar (More info...)
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Factual Expands Healthcare Data To InsuranceLos Angeles-based online cloud data provider Factual has made a big expansion of its database today, saying this morning that it has added healthcare insurance data to its giant database of healthcare providers. The firm said that it has begun adding information about insurance acceptance of doctors and specialists in its database. The company said it has added over 1.8 million records to the database as part of that effort, which also includes information on medical affiliations, gender, langua (More info...)
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Apptopia.com Gets Funding From Mark CubanApptopia.com, a new startup which allows developers and others to buy and sell the ownership of mobile applications, said this morning that it is getting set to close out a $1M round of funding, led by Mark Cuban. The company, which has offices in both Santa Monica and Boston, said that Cuban invested $500,000 in the company, and that it is also backed by Ryan Melohn of ExpansionVC. Apptopia.com lets developers sell the ownership to the applications they have developed to buyers, who can test ou (More info...)
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iRise Takes On Government MarketEl Segundo-based iRise, the developer of enterprise, application visualization and prototyping software, is targeting the government market with a new product, the company said this week. The company, which is backed by Morgan Stanley Venture Partners and Deutsche Bank, said it has introduced a new product called OnDemand for Government, which is aimed at helping government agencies develop user-friendly applications, and is hosted in the cloud and sold on a subscription basis. Pricing on the ne (More info...)
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Western Digital Reports Record ResultsIrvine-based disk drive maker Western Digital reported its annual results last night, saying that it had record revenues of $12.5 billion, and net income of $1.6 billion for its fiscal 2012. The publicly held company said that compares to a fiscal 2011 revenue of $9.5 billion and $726 million in net income. The company now has now amassed a huge, $3.2 billion in cash and cash equivalents, after generating $1.1 billion in cash from operations in its June quarter.
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CitizenHawk Unveils Automated UDRP Filing ToolAliso Viejo-based CitizenHawk, which develops online tools to help brand owners detect violations, cybersquatters, and more, said this morning that it has launched a new tool which automates UDRP (Uniform Domain-Name Dispute-Resolution Policy) filings. UDRP filings are used by companies to protest domain names which they believe infringe on their trademarks or other intellectual property. CitizenHawk said its HawkUDRP tool generates the filing packages required for those UDRP processes automatic (More info...)
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National Technical Systems Hires New CFOCalabasas-based National Technical Systems, which provides outsourced engineering and test services, reported this morning that it has named a new Chief Financial Officer. The firm said it has named Michael El-Hillow to the position, reporting to President and CEO William C. McGinnis. El-Hillow joins the firm from Massachusetts-based solar panel manufacturer Evergreen Solar, where he served as CFO from 2007 to 2010, and later was appointed CEO to restructure and sell the company. He also has ser (More info...)
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