Wednesday, September 19, 2012Artkive Solves The What-Do-I-Do-With-My-Children's-Artwork ProblemAnyone who is a parent is familiar with that age old problem: what to do with that huge pile of art your kids brought home from school. A new, Los Angeles startup, The Kive Company, has recently released its first app, ARTKIVE, which does just that. Instead of stuffing a box full of pictures and art in the garage, or quietly "filing" that art in the trash, ARTKIVE allows parents to take a photo of that art with their mobile phone, and then archives that art in the cloud, letting users automatica (More info...)
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Los Angeles Companies Continue To Dominate Top YouTube ChannelsThe latest ranking of the top, YouTube Partner Channels from internet measurement firm comScore shows that the entire segment continues to be dominated by Los Angeles companies, with the region holding six of the top slots in the list. The August 2012 ranking by comScore ranks Machinima at number three on YouTube, with 21.8M unique viewers; number four is Maker Studios, with 20.9M uniques; fifth is FullScreen, with 18.9M uniques; eight is Big Frame with 8.4M uniques, and MOVIECLIPS at number 10 (More info...)
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Divshot Sets Up Shop In Los AngelesWhat would convince you to drop everything, get on a plane, and move your startup to Los Angeles? In the case of Divshot, a developer of user interface development tools for web apps, it was a chance to join Los Angeles accelerator Launchpad LA. According to Silicon Prairie News, the founders of DivShot, Michael Bligh and Jake Johnson, jumped at the chance to become part of the Los Angeles technology community after winning first place at the Crowdstart LA pitch competition in July. Divshot deve (More info...)
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Fandango Connects Into PassbookLos Angeles-based Fandango, the movie ticketing service, said that it has connected into Apple's new Passbook App, which Apple announced for iOS 6. Fandango said that its mobile tickets are available to store in Apple's Passbook for iOS 6, allowing movie users to store the mobile barcode tickets within the app. Passbook is a "digital wallet" application meant to store coupons, loyalty cards, and more.
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OpenX Opens New Office In JapanLos Angeles-based online advertising technology firm OpenX has opened up a new office in Tokyo, as the firm continues it international expansion. The firm said that it has named Nick Kovac as General Manager, OpenX Japan, to oversee business operations in the country. OpenX has been in Japan since 2010. Kovac joins from Asia Pacific Ventures, working with such firms as SuccessFactors and Reality Mobile; he also has served at Roxio, Inc., Corel Corporation and Nick Kato & Associates.
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Scopely Raises $8.5MIt looks like all that bacon paid off. Los Angeles-based Scopely, the startup co-founded by Eytan Elbaz, Eytan Elbaz, Walter Driver and Ankur Bulsara, which is developing social and mobile games, said this morning that it has raised $8.5M in a new, seed financing round, from Anthem Venture Partners, The Chernin Group, Greycroft Venture Partners and New Enterprise Associates (NEA), as well as angels. The firm--best known until now for its effort to recruit employees with the promise of $11,000 wr (More info...)
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Skylight Healthcare Gets $5M For Interactive HealthcareSan Diego-based Skylight Healthcare Systems, a developer of interactive patient care systems, said today that it has raised $5.0M in a funding round. The Series D round came from Duchossois Capital Partners. Skylight said the funding will go towards product development, marketing, and sales of its systems. Skylight's interactive systems are used for education and health literacy for patients, both before and after health care procedures.
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Zui Acquired By Saban BrandsSan Diego-based Zui, the kid-friendly Internet portal which runs KidZui, has been acquired by Saban Brands, Saban said this morning. Financial terms of the buy were not disclosed. Saban Brands said the buy will strengthen its position in kids entertainment. As a part of the acquisition, Saban said it will establish a new physical presence in San Diego, and add 12 employees to its organization. Zui was venture backed by Emergence Capital, Mission Ventures, Maveron and the Scholastic Corporation.
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StoryBots And The Future of Learning,With Gregg Spiridellis, JibJabWhat would Sesame Street look like, if it was created in the world of smartphones, tablets, and YouTube? It might look a little bit like StoryBots (www.storybots.com), the new kids educational and entertainment service just launched by JibJab (www.jibjab.com). We caught up with Gregg Spiridellis, one of the founders of JibJab, to hear about Storybots.
First, to catch up our readers on JibJab, can you quickly talk about where the company is nowadays and the whole greeting card business?
Gre (More info...)
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Aviir Diagnostic Laboratories Gets $8M In Debt FundingIrvine-based Aviir, a developer of laboratory tests for detecting cardiovascular disease, said it has raised $8M in funding from Silicon Valley Bank. The firm said the round included $5M in growth debt, plus a $3M line of credit. The new funding will go towards accerating commercialization activity and build out its infrastructure. Aviir develops diagnostics tests to help detect and prevent cardiac disease. Aviir last raised funding in December of 2012, with a $30M equity round from Merck GHI.
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RGM Group Gets $21M For Online AdvertisingLos Angeles-based RGM Group, which provides online media services for premium advertisers, said today that it has raised $21M in a funding round. The round came from Riordan, Lewis & Haden (RLH) Equity Partners. As part of the funding, the company said that it has hired Kurt Johnson, the former CEO of FastClick, as its new CEO. Johnson also served as CFO of ValueClick. Chris Lewis and Ryan Smiley of RLH have joined the company's board, along with Rod Rodin, former CEO of Marshall Industries. For (More info...)
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Life Technologies Opens Facility In ChinaCarlsbad-based Life Technologies said this morning that it has opened up a new, manufacturing facility in Beijing, China. The biotechnology firm said the new facility will manufacture DNA testing solutions, providing its DNA testing kits to forensics labs and law enforcement agencies in China. The firm said the new manufacturing facility is aimed at providing locally manufactured products for the Chinese government and its 400 crime labs.
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Illumina Buys BlueGnomeSan Diego-based Illumina, the developer of life sciences tools, said this morning that it has acquired BlueGnome, a UK-based provider of in-vitro fertilization and cytogenetics screening products. Financial terms of the acquisition were not announced. Illumina said that BlueGnome has become a wholly owned subsidiary of the company. BlueGnome's technology is used for screening for genetic abnormalities associated with developmental delay, cancer, and infertility.
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