Tuesday, October 23, 2012Independa Gets $1M In Angel FundingSan Diego-based Independa, the provider of technology which helps to connect and remotely monitor seniors, to help them live independently longer, has raised $1M in an angel funding round. The funding was first publicly disclosed in a regulatory filing last week. According to reports, angels were the source of the new funding. Independa has also previously raised funding from such investors as City Hill Ventures and Miramar Venture Partners. Independa is in the midst of rolling out applications (More info...)
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Insights and Opinions: Can you just tell little business lies?In our Insights and Opinions section this afternoon, we share an article from Dave Berkus, author and angel investor--who just released his book, BASIC BERKONOMICS--who asks: is it ever okay to tell a little business lie?
"He's not in right now." "I am going to the doctor at that time." "I paid only two dollars a unit to your competitor." Whether not true and used to avoid hurting someone's feelings, or whether used to gain an advantage in a negotiation, these little business lies are ac (More info...)
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Accelrys Buys Software FirmSan Diego-based Accelrys, which develops software for the life sciences industry, has acquired a fellow software company, Aegis Analytical. Accelrys said it paid $30M for Colorado based Aegis, which it will use to bolster its products. Aegis develops software used in the lab-to-commercialization processes, for quality control, and to reduce compliance risk. Accelrys will retain "key" members of the Aegis management team, as well as Aegis employees.
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FatCloud Accelerates .NET Application Development, Backed by Elevator LabsFatCloud, a new startup developing a .NET-focused, platform-as-a-service (PaaS) development platform, said today that it has launched it services, helping developers to deliver their .NET applications. The firm--which is backed by Elevator Labs--said it helps provide scale-out processing, data management, and availability/redundancy for .NET applications, using a cluster/grid of servers to help scale those apps. The new company is headed by Ian Miller, and is backed by startup incubator Elevator (More info...)
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ACTIVE Network Wins Canadian DealACTIVE Network, the developer of software-as-a-service for managing sports and other activity registrations, reported today that it has won a deal in Saskatchewan, Canada. The firm said that the Saskatchewan Ministry of Environment is automating its hunting, trapping and angling licensing using its software. Financial impact of the win was not disclosed. ACTIVE Network says its software is used to process more than 37 million hunting and fishing licenses annually.
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TX Zhuo Talks About LA's Newest Venture Fund, Karlin Ventures
One of the biggest complaints that local entrepreneurs have with Los Angeles has been a dearth of local sources of venture capital. However, the recent surge in startup activity has attracted a lot more capital into the area, including a significant amount of capital from LA's latest fund: Karlin Ventures (www.karlinvc.com). We sat down with TX Zhuo, who is heading up the firm's venture investments, about the fund and his path here after a recent stint at Eric Schmidt's Innovation Endeavors fu (More info...)
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Western Digital Generating Nearly $1 Billion In Cash Every QuarterHow big is Irvine-based disk drive maker Western Digital? Apparently, very big. The firm announced its results yesterday, saying that it is generated $936M in cash from operations during its September quarter, based on $4.0 billion in revenues. For comparison, all of the venture capital investment into Southern California last quarter was less than the amount of cash generated by Western Digital from its operations--a mere $694M. Western Digital has been taking that cash and putting it towards b (More info...)
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Image Metrics Debuts iPhone AppImage Metrics, the Santa Monica developer of facial capture and animation software, said Monday that it has launched a new, consumer app in the App STore, which allows iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch users to use their devices to capture their faces, and add "cool" digital masks and facial effects to photos and videos. The new Mojo Masks app is the firm's first iOS app, and is free. The firm said the app allows users to apply those masks to their photos and videos, and then share them with friends (More info...)
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Eucalyptus: The Next Billion Dollar Open Source Firm?A new article this morning from ReadWriteWeb has identified Santa Barbara-based cloud computing software firm Eucalyptus has one of the open source software companies most likely to become the next, $1 billion company (in annual revenues). According to the report, Eucalyptus is benefiting from its focus on the Amazon Web Services ecosystem, plus having former MySQL head Marten Mickos as its CEO. The article did not say what kind of revenues Eucalyptus actually is delivering, however.
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Qualcomm Powers Device For the BlindQualcomm is helping to power a new device to help the blind and visually impaired, through a new device from Project RAY Ltd.. THe two said today that Qualcomm, through its Wireless Reach initiative, have designed a new mobile device--based on an off-the-shelf Android smartphone based on Qualcomm's Snapdragon processor--which includes such features as audio book reading, navigation tools, bar code scanning, voice-enabled MP3 player, vocal text messaging, object recognition, and much more. The ne (More info...)
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Vitesse Ships 4G/LTE Ethernet Switching ChipCamarillo-based chip developer Vitesse Semiconductor said today that it has shipped a new chip aimed at the 4G/LTE small cell market. The firm said its new six-port Carrier Ethernet switch is aimed at use in millimeter-wave backhaul applications and small cell base stations. The firm said its new product uses less power and has a lower bill-of-materials (BOM) cost than other, competition options. The firm's Serval Lite (VSC7416) chip is available now.
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iRise Adds iPhone 5, Windows 8, Android Tablet SupportEl Segundo-based iRise, which develops software for prototyping enterprise applications, has extended its platform today by adding support for the iPhone 5, Windows 8, and Android Tablets. The firm said its software--which it used to prototype and help define enterprise apps--has been upgraded to support simulations for the latest mobile and tablet applications. iRise allows users to build functioning prototypes of enterprise apps without programming, allowing subject experts and end users to ho (More info...)
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Novatel Wireless Files Second Lawsuit Against ZTESan Diego-based wireless modem manufacturer Novatel Wireless said today that it has filed an additional patent infringement suite against Chinese networking equipment firm ZTE. Novatel said that ZTE has infringed on a wireless patent related to its MiFi family of mobile hotspots and wireless data modems. Novatel Wireless said it filed the lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Southern District of California.
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