Tuesday, February 5, 2013


LaunchpadLA Application Deadline Nears, As Class Graduates
Interested in getting some help in getting your startup off the ground and funded? Launchpad LA, the Los Angeles startup accelerator program which is run by Sam Teller, and was founded by venture capitalist Mark Suster, is gearing up for another class, to start next month. The deadline for applying for the next class, which runs from March through July, is February 17th. LaunchpadLA, which is among a number of startup accelerators which have emerged over the past few years and turned Los An (More info...)
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Ninja Metrics Gains $750,000 To Decode Social Influence In Apps, Games
How do you figure out which of your users matter most in your social applications and games, and help that to improve social interaction and engagement in your apps? Redondo Beach-based NinjaMetrics has just scored some funding for exactly that, in the first part of a Series A funding round, worth $750,000. The new funding comes from Yuri Pikover (Xylan, 5Square, Access360), along with the Tech Coast Angels' Ace Fund, along with other angels. Ninja Metrics, which was co-founded by Dr. Dmitri (More info...)
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Nomadix Debuts New Wi-Fi Hotspot
Agoura Hills-based Nomadix, the developer of wireless gateways, said Tuesday that it has launched a new product, a all-in-one Wi-Fi hotspot and Internet gateway. The firm--which is now owned by DOCOMO interTouch.--said the new Nomadix Wireless Connect Gateway (NWCG) is aimed at retail chains, restaurants, conference rooms, waiting rooms, to provide secure Internet access for users. The announcement is one of the first major product announcements from the firm after years of patent battles; the c (More info...)
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Viddy Thrown Into Turmoil As O'Brien Loses CEO Post
Live by the echo chamber, die by the echo chamber. Or so, it seems, as Los Angeles-based mobile video sharing startup Viddy learns that being the startup-darling-of-the-second isn't all that it's cut out to be for a startup. Viddy has lost its CEO, Brett O'Brien, in a shakeup that reported has to do with either not accepting (or not getting) an acquisition offer from Twitter. Viddy, which is venture backed by New Enterprise Associates, Goldman Sachs, Khosla Ventures, and Battery Ventures, has be (More info...)
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Siemer Ventures Backs Ribbon
Los Angeles-based Siemer Ventures, the venture capital investor led by Eric Manlunas and David SIemer, has been one of the most active local investors lately--and is continuing that trend, with the investment in Ribbon. Ribbon, the developer of a social commerce platform which lets users list items for sale, distribute that through their social networks like Facebook, and accept credit card payments--said today that it has raised $1.6M in a seed funding round. The San Francisco startup said t (More info...)
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Another Bay Area Startup Launches Cleaning Service In SoCal
Southern California is once again the target expansion market for a Bay Area startup offering cleaning services via the web this morning, as EXEC said it is expanding beyond the San Francisco Bay Area, and launching its cleaning service in San Diego. EXEC is one of a number of startups looking to automate the process of booking a house cleaner or maid, through an easy, online interface. The launch of EXEC into Southern California follows only a few weeks after another, Bay Area startup--Pathjoy, (More info...)
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Tapiture Gets $825K
How do you capture the interest of male users, and not only capture their eyeballs--but drive some e-commerce revenues? In the case of Tapiture, you create a Pinterest-inspired, visual, social discovery service which surfaces photos of men's fashion, food, motorcycles, funny videos, and more, and inspires those men to learn more about those products. Tapiture's site centers around a visual tableau of different products, photos, videos, and more, which can be browsed, voted up and down, and whi (More info...)
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Boingo Offers Free WiFi In NYC For February
Boingo Wireless, the wireless hotspot operator which operates an international network of Wi-Fi hotspots, said today that it will offer up free access at locations in New York City in February, as part of a deal with Norwegian Cruise Line. Boingo said that it will offer up free access at selected New York subway stations, John F. Kennedy (JFK), LaGuardia and Newark Liberty International Airport, as part of a promotion for the arrival of a new Norwegian Cruise Line ship, the Norwegian Breakaway. (More info...)
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JMI Equity Backs WhiteHat Security
San Diego-based private equity investor JMI Equity has backed a developer of website security tools this morning. WhiteHat Security, which is based in Santa Clara, said this morning it raised $31M in a new funding round, which will go towards international expansion and towards efforts in the small and medium sized business market. That funding came from both JMI Equity and existing investor Investor Growth Capital. JMI Equity is an investor in late-stage, established technology companies.
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Beachfront Media Adds HTML5 Support
Beachfront Media, the developer of video publishing tools, said today that its Beachfront Builder software now supports HTML5 applications. The firm said the new support allows companies to support the mobile web, in addition to the company's existing, native apps for the iPhone, iPad, and Android. Burbank-based Beachfront Media offers up tools to help content publishers publish their videos to the Internet and to mobile platforms; the company also operates the video discovery engine Mefeedia. B (More info...)
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Retention Science Debuts Retention Score
Los Angeles-based Retention Science, the developer of big data analytics software for online marketing, announced today that it has launched a new "Retention Score", which it bills as a Klout Score of e-commerce. The score allows online stores to see, at a glance, what their performance is with customer retention. Retention Science said the score looks at customer churn, customer engagement, customer sentiment, and repeat purchase rate to let businesses get an idea of how they are doing with cus (More info...)
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Morphlabs Takes On Amazon AWS With OpenStack Platform
Morphlabs, the developer of cloud-based infrastructure software, announced today that it has launched a new, Openstack-powered public cloud platform. The firm said the new software allows service providers to implement their own, public cloud software--and claims that it out-performs the giant in the market, Amazon Web Services. Morphlabs said its software is aimed at helping service providers compete head-to-head with Amazon Web Services. The new software is an extension of Morphlabs' existing (More info...)
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The Gores Group Buys Harris Broadcast Communications
Los Angeles-based private equity firm The Gores Group said Monday afternoon that it has acquired Harris Broadcast Communications, a supplier of hardware and software to create, manage, transmit, and distribute video content. The deal had been announced in December, and was worth $225M. Harris Broadcast Communications was formerly a division of Harris Corporation, and will become its own, stand-alone company with the deal. Harris Broadcast Communications said it will use the buy to "move the busi (More info...)
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ServiceNow Wins Holland America
San Diego-based enterprise IT management software provider ServiceNow reported this morning that it has been selected by Holland America Line, to help automate the cruise operator's corporate and fleet IT services. Financial impact of the win was not disclosed. ServiceNow said its software is being used by Holland America to consolidate its IT systems and automate its enterprise operations. ServiceNow's enterprise IT software is used by help companies automate their business and IT processes; th (More info...)
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LifeProof Sets Marketing Head
San Diego-based protective case maker LifeProof said this morning that it has named Alan Cohen as its Chief Marketing Officer. Cohen joins the company from real estate and shopping center operator Westfield, and also has served at Gemstar-TV Guide and Napster. LifeProof develops and markets protective cases for smartphones and tablets.
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