Tuesday, November 12, 2013ecoATM Gets Tough On Stolen Cell Phones With New HireSan Diego-based ecoATM, the developer of those automated kiosks used for trading in your old cell phones, is getting tough on the use of its kiosks by cell phone thieves, saying Tuesday that it has appointed the former Deputy Commissioner of the California Highway Patrol to deter cell phone theft. ecoATM--which is now part of Outerwall (formerly Coinstar)--said that Max Santiago has been named Law Enforcement Relations. ecoATM says it currently monitors all of its transactions, collects fingerpr (More info...)
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Quest Software Founder's Toba Capital Re-Ups On QuorumIrvine-based Toba Capital, the investment firm of Quest Software CEO and founder Vinny Smith, has re-upped on Quorum, a developer of appliances for disaster recovery and backup--and also taken charge of the company. According to Quorum, it raised $10M in a Series C funding, and appointed Toba Capital venture partner Walter Angerer as the company's new, interim CEO. Quorum has now raised $36M in funding for its appliances, which use hybrid clouds to provide disaster recovery and backup for compan (More info...)
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Hulu Plus Hits PlayStation 4Los Angeles-based television streaming site Hulu announced today that its premium service, Hulu Plus, will be available on the upcoming Sony PlayStation 4, starting on Friday. According to Hulu, Hulu Plus for PS4 will include larger and more vivid artwork, a "tray style" format for navigating through titles and shows, better search, and more. Hulu also said it will be featuring a promotion tied to the Sony PlayStation 4 launch, around a free download of the first episode of the company's origina (More info...)
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Skechers Co-founder Backs Real Estate Startup HousehappyJeff Greenberg, the co-founder of Manhattan Beach-based Skechers, has made a big angel investment in a real estate startup called Househappy.org this morning. According to Househappy.org, which operates an online site to let users browse through home properties in a visual way (think "Pinterest for real estate"), said it raised $1.5M from Greenberg, who the company said helped found Skechers with his father, Robert Greenberg, in 1992. Greenberg is also a real estate developer with a luxury homeb (More info...)
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Ninja Metrics: Applying Predictive Analytics To Make Games More Profitable
In the world of online, mobile, and social games, there are now petabytes of data being collected by companies on what users are doing in those games--and trying to make sense of all that information. In a move to convert that huge pile of data into something much more meaningful, Los Angeles-based Ninja Metrics (www.ninjametrics.com) launched a new predictive analytics product for the industry. The company announced a first round of funding Monday for its technology. We spoke with CEO and fou (More info...)
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Emulex Launches Cost Cutting, Stock Buyback EffortCosta Mesa-based Emulex said Monday that it is launching a cost cutting effort, a $200M stock buyback, and that Executive Chairman Jim McCluney will exit the company's board in February. According to Emulex, it expects to save $30M in annual costs through a "cost savings program", and will purchase $200M in its shares in a share repurchase program, as part of an effort to return capital to its shareholders. The move comes as Emulex has been looking for a private equity buyer to take the company (More info...)
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Circle Street Acquired By ValassisLos Angeles-based Circle Street, the developer of a mobile advertising service to help retailers drive local store traffic, has been acquired by media and advertising firm Valassis, according to the company's venture backer, Crosscut Ventures. Financial terms of the acquisition were not announced. Circle Street was founded by Alex Nocifera, and operated a subscription service to help retail brands drive local, store-level traffic via mobile advertising. Circle Street will become part of the emer (More info...)
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Core Innovation Capital Backs Ripple LabsLos Angeles-based venture investor Core Innovation Capital is backing payment protocol provider Ripple Labs, as part of a new $3.5M funding in Ripple. San Francisco-based Ripple Labs develops an open source, distributed payment protocol aimed at the global market, to help users send money in any kind of currency. The new funding came from Core Innovation Capital, Venture 51, Camp One Ventures, IDG Capital Partners, and angels. Core Innovation Capital recently relocated to Los Angeles to tap into (More info...)
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NantHealth Partners With ALERT Life SciencesLos Angeles-based NantHealth, the developer of next generation diagnostics and therapeutics tools for the healthcare industry which is backed by billionaire Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong, said it has partnered with ALERT Life Sciences Computing. NantHealth said the deal will enable integration of its "clinical operating system" with ALERT's software in the United States, and provide it with co-distribution rights in the United Kingdom. FInancial details of the partnership were not announced. NantHealt (More info...)
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Illumina Names New PresidentLife sciences equipment manufacturer Illumina said Monday that it has named Francis deSouza as President fo the company, reporting to CEO Jay Flatley. deSouza was previously President of Products & Services at Symantec Corporation. He also has served at IMlogic, Flash Communications, and Microsoft. San Diego-based Illumina said that deSouza will be responsible for envisioning, developing and producing the company's products, including heading up company strategy, planning and operations.
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