Thursday, December 12, 2013Interview with Simon Anderson, DreamHost
Earlier this month, Los Angeles-based web hosting and cloud computing provider DreamHost (www.dreamhost.com) raised a big, $30M funding round for the company--the first in the company's long history. The company- now has around $50M in recurring annual revenues. We caught up with CEO Simon Anderson to learn more about the big debt funding round and how it came about, the complexities of providing founder liquidity in a bootstrapped company--and how the company is looking to use those funds to (More info...)
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Fandango Launches New Season Of Original Video SeriesLos Angeles-based online movie information and ticketing site Fandango said Thursday that it is continuing its efforts at creating original content for the service, with the second season launch of its series "Fandango Frontrunners". The series, hosted by Dave Karger, interviews with stars, directors, producers, and others. Fandango also said it has linked up with the USC School of Cinematic Arts on a special sets of episodes filmed at the Eileen Norris Cinema Theatre/ Frank Sinatra Hall, and al (More info...)
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TrueCar Scoops Up $30M From Vulcan CapitalSanta Monica-based online car buying technology provider TrueCar said this morning that it has raised $30M in a new round of funding, from Vulcan Capital, the venture funding arm of Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen. TrueCar said the new funds will go towards market expansion, product development, and to build its brand. As part of the funding, Abhishek Agrawal has joined TrueCar's board of directors. TrueCar's other investors are Upfront Ventures, Capricorn Investment Group, USAA, and Allen & Com (More info...)
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DFR2013: Over 700 Celebrate The socalTECH 50 At The Skirball Center
In one of Southern California's biggest holiday events of the year, over 700 people joined us last night at the Skirball Center in Los Angeles to celebrate the region's rising stars, the socalTECH 50. We partnered up with the Digital Family Reunion to bring together the technology community for the night, for a night of networking (and more networking), live music, food, drink, and great company. We also had a small party-before-the-party with much of the 50 on our list, with a panel featuring (More info...)
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JetBlue Takes Off With ViaSat's High Speed BroadbandJetBlue has officially launched its JetBlue Fly-Fi, in-flight Wi-Fi service, in the first deployment of Carlsbad-based ViaSat's high speed, Ka-band high capacity satellite broadband, the companies said yesterday. According to the ViaSat, its system is capable of delivering 12 Mbps or more in capacity to each connected passenger using the company's new satellite system. JetBlue has been working on rolling out the system since March, in a bid to attract more business travelers to the airline. ViaS (More info...)
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SGN Launches New TitleLos Angeles-based game developer SGN said this morning that it has launched a new gaming title, Panda Pop, a sequel to an existing SGN game called Panda Jam. According to SGN, the new title is now available on iOS, and is the first of a number of "marquee" titles that SGN is planning to launch through 2014. SGN--which is led by Chris DeWolfe--said the title is free to play, and revolves around bursting matching bubbles. The gaming develops said it plans to release Facebook, Android, and Amazon v (More info...)
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Snapchat Confirms $50M Series C RoundLos Angeles-based Snapchat confirmed it has raised $50M in a Series C funding Wednesday, as the hot, instant photo messaging app developer reportedly turned down a $3 billion offer from Facebook and has decided to continue on as an independent company. The funding round came entirely from Coatue Management. Snapchat has now raised $125.0M in funding.
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Cinedigm Wins Theater ChainLos Angeles-based Cinedigm reported today that it has signed up MJR Theaters, to use the company's new web-based software for theater chains. Financial impact of the sale was not announced. Cinedigm said that MJR had previously been using the company's Theatre Control Center software, and has upgraded to its latest version, TCC3, with the win. Cinedigm's software handles management of ads and trailers for exhibitors, and supports handheld or desktop devices.
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