Tuesday, March 11, 2014Voxox In Deal With LenovoSan Diego-based cloud communications service provider Voxox said today that it has signed a deal with PC maker Lenovo, on a pre-load deal, which will feature Voxox's icon and embedded link on Lenovo's consumer laptops. Financial details of the deal were not announced. The deal will provide an icon and embedded link on Lenovo's U530, Y510, and Flex 15 models. Voxox provides both consumer and business communications services, including voice-over-IP, SMS, electronic FAX, and other related service (More info...)
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Oculus VR Poaches VR Expert, Starts New Seattle OfficeIrvine-based virtual reality hardware developer Oculus VR announced this morning that it has hired on Atman Binstock--a well known expert in virtual reality--as its new Chief Architect. Binstock was previously at Valve, heading up that company's virtual reality projects, and also has served at RAD, DICE, and Intel. Oculus VR said that it will be boosting hiring in the Seattle area for its new R&D team. Oculus VR is venture backed by Andreessen Horowitz, and had raised a huge $75M funding round l (More info...)
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Sonos: $535M In Revenue In 2013Santa Barbara-based Sonos has been remarkably quiet over the years about how the company has been doing financially. However, the company disclosed Monday that it had $535M in revenue in 2013, nearly double the revenues the company had in 2012, making it one of the largest companies on the Central Coast. Sonos develops wireless, whole-home speakers, which can stream music from either a local PC or from across the Internet. Sonos is backed by BV Capital, Elevation Partner, Index Ventures, Kohlber (More info...)
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Demand Media Links With Electus Digital For Comedy Ad SalesSanta Monica-based Demand Media said today that it has linked with Electus Digital, to offload premium ad sales for its Cracked.com website. According to the two, Electus Digital will now offer exclusive premium ad sales representation for Cracked.com, including custom branded content and "high-impact" ad units on the site. Financial details of the deal were not announced. Electus Digital owns the similar, humor sites CollegeHumor and Dorkly, and the move will allow the company to sell ads acros (More info...)
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Sonos To Forward Publish Patent ApplicationsSanta Barbara-based wireless speaker maker Sonos said Monday that it will start "forward-publishing" its patent applications, making the text of those patents available to the public far before they normally would be, saying it wants to "accelerate innovation". According to Sonos, it has more than 200 patent filings, and that it will be publishing the patent filings its makes--as long as applications that cover inventions not yet publicly avaliable in its products. Sonos said the move would allo (More info...)
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How ZEFR Is Helping Hollywood And Brands Understand YouTubeWant to understand the world of YouTube? There's no better way than post thousands of pieces of content online and see what happens -- and realize that the tools weren't there to truly figure out what was happening. Venice-based Zefr (www.zefr.com) got its start in the content world--licensing movie clips and posting them online--but soon, figured out there was a whole different opportunity in developing software tools to understand exactly what was happening on YouTube. The firm now has $30M m (More info...)
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Glip Debuts Android AppLos Angeles-based Glip, which develops team conversation and collaboration tools, said today that it has launched an Android application. Glip develops team communications tools focused on real-time conversations, and is aimed at replacing email, instant messaging, and text. Glip said the new tool allows users to read and post messages in the service, as well as view shared images and join video chats. The app is free. Glip's founders include Peter Pezaris, who was CEO of Multiply, and also foun (More info...)
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Lumena Pharmaceuticals Gets $45MSan Diego-based Lumena Pharmaceuticals, a biopharmaceuticals firm developing treatments for liver disease, said today that it has raised $45M in a Series B funding. The funding was led by New Enterprise Associates, and also included Adage Capital Management, RA Capital Management, as well as prior investors Pappas Ventures, RiverVest Venture Partners and Alta Partners. As part of the funding, Ed Mathers of NEA will join the company's board. Lumena has now raised about $78M in total. Luemna is d (More info...)
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CampaignEQ Launches Affiliate Tracking ToolSanta Monica-based CampaignEQ, the developer of marketing tracking tools, said today that it has launched a new product for affiliate and customer referral tracking for e-commerce providers Shopify, Magento, Big Commerce, and Business Catalyst. According to CampaignEQ, the new tool lets companies manage and optimize incoming traffic, including CPC, CPL, CPA, affiliate networks, and other advertising. CampaignEQ said it tool starts at $19 a month. CampaignEQ was founded by Dirk McGregor and Willi (More info...)
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SGN Debuts New Puzzle Game, Cookie JamIs this the new Bejeweled? Los Angeles-based game developer SGN announced Monday that it has launched a new, fast-action puzzle game called Cookie Jam. The title--initially available only for iOS--revolves around a panda in a French bakery. According to SGN, it is hoping to take a clue from titles like Bejeweled and Candy Crush with the new game. SGN said it will release versions of Cookie Jam on Google Play and Facebook later this month. SGN was founded by CHris DeWolfe, who was one of the foun (More info...)
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Local Corporation Launches Tool To Drive Local SalesIrvine-based Local Corporation said this morning that it has launched a new tool aimed at driving shoppers to local retailers. According to Local Corporation, it has launched a new "Where-to-Buy" product for manufacturers, which makes it easier for consumers to find and buy products from local retailers. Local Corporation said the new tool is powered by the Krillion local shopping platform, which provides location-based product information at the brand and store-level. Pricing on the new offerin (More info...)
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