Monday, March 31, 2014


Machinima Names Gutstein New CEO
Los Angeles-based YouTube network Machinima said Monday that it has named Chad Gutstein as its new CEO, replacing outgoing CEO and co-founder Allen DeBevoise. According to Machiima, Gutstein is the former Chief Operating Officer of the Ovation television network. DeBevoise is apparently leaving to a new, "next generation video entertainment network" focused on gamers. Gutstein also served at BuyTV and Entertainment Media Advisors, among other positions.
posted on Monday, March 31, 2014(Full story)

Pluto.TV Takes On Media Aggregation
Los Angeles-based Pluto.TV, a new company led by startup veteran Nick Grouf, said Monday that it has launched a brand new, video platform which will curate streams of video content around music, sports, news, entertainment, and many other areas. According to the startup, it will offe rnearly 100 channels centered around specific channels, and is backed by Terry Semel (Window Media), Jeremy Zimmer (UTA), Avram Miller (Intel Capital), Mich Mathews (Microsoft), Chris Silbermann (ICM), Greg Steiner (More info...)
posted on Monday, March 31, 2014(Full story)

TigerText Dangles $1M Guarantee Against HIPAA Violations
Santa Monica-based TigerText, which develops secure, text-messaging tools for enterprise customers--and in particular, the healthcare industry--is putting its money where its mouth is, saying Monday that it will offer up a $1 million indemnification against violations from HIPAA's technical safeguards for protected health information. The company said the guarantee covers that violations of HIPAA that may arise from sending and receiving confidential and protected health information via the Tige (More info...)
posted on Monday, March 31, 2014(Full story)

Recargo Launches EV Road Trip
In an effort to prove that the company's mobile apps can help get electric vehicle owners all the way across the country, Venice, California-based startup Recargo said it has launched an effort to make an 18-day, 12,000 mile, battery powered trip entirely using an electric vehicle. Recargo said that it is planning to drive a stock, Tesla Model S sedan on a 27-state route, which touches all four corners of the lower 48, hitting Washington, Maine, Florida, and ending in Venice, California at its h (More info...)
posted on Monday, March 31, 2014(Full story)

Correction: 3D Ram Semiconductor Developer Gets Funding
Update: Crossbar informs us that its investment announcement incorrectly identified the investor in this story as Tao Venture Capital Partners, when it should be an entirely different company -- Tao Invest, the investment fund of Nick and Joby Pritzker (also referred to as Tao LLC). The two funds are not related. The Pritzkers are members of the Pritzker family, which founded the Hyatt hotel chain. Tao Venture Capital Partners is the venture investment fun dof Tom Clancy. We've corrected the det (More info...)
posted on Monday, March 31, 2014 (More)(Full story)

MarketShare Bolsters Advisory Board With Levinsohn, Others
Los Angeles-based MarketShare, the developer of marketing analytics software led by Wes Nichols, has bolstered its advisory team, saying today that it has added Ross Levinsohn, Tom Davenport, and Pat LaPointe to its advisory board. Levinsohn is the best known of the three, having most recently been interim CEO at Yahoo!, in addition to serving at Fuse Capital and Fox Interactive Media. Davenport is a professor at Babson College, and LaPoint is the former founder and managing partner of Marketing (More info...)
posted on Monday, March 31, 2014(Full story)

Gamblit Gaming Gets $12M For Gambling Software
Glendale-based Gamblit Gaming, a developer of software which makes it easier for videogame developers to adapt their software for real-money gaming, has raised $12M in funding. The funding came from American Capital. Gamblit Gaming is currently aiming its tools at countries where gambling via mobile apps and games is allowed. Gamblit Gaming is led by Eric Meyerhofer, who was previously CEO of FutureLogic, the Glendale-based company which provides hardware for the gaming industry.
posted on Monday, March 31, 2014 (More)(Full story)

Decoding Signal From Noise For Wall Street, With Bitvore
In today's electronic world, there is an immense number of data sources creating millions of data points that companies are hoping to make sense of. That data--if you could just find the right piece--could be useful in a number of areas, particularly in the financial markets. Bitvore (www.bitvore.com) has created a system which takes thousands of sources of data, and extracts intelligence out of it to create actionable information out of that vast stream of real time data. We spoke with CEO Jeff (More info...)
posted on Monday, March 31, 2014(Full story)

DogVacay Updates Host iPhone Tools
Los Angeles-based DogVacay, the online marketplace for connecting dog owners with dog sitters, has updated the tools its provides to its hosts to help manage their dog sitting appointments. According to DogVacay, its app now allows its hosts to view all of their past, current, and upcoming reservations; view and send messages; send photo updates to clients; update their calendar; and much more. DogVacay's online marketplace is aimed both at dog owners looking for someone to watch their dog at th (More info...)
posted on Monday, March 31, 2014(Full story)

ID Analytics Updates Fraud Detection Tools
San Diego-based ID Analytics has updated its fraud detection tools, saying that it has released a new version of its ID Score product. The company said that its updated product--which is used by businesses to detect e-commerce fraud--provides a 30 to 50 percent improvement in fraud detection over its prior release. ID Analytics uses device authentication to help combat fraud -- using information on a user's specific device to identify machines which are likely to be involved in fraud activity. I (More info...)
posted on Monday, March 31, 2014(Full story)

D-Link Ships Wi-Fi Enabled Baby Monitor
Fountain Valley-based wireless hardware provider D-Link said today that it has begun shipping a new, wireless baby monitor camera, which lets parents watch their babies on their smartphone or tablet. D-Link said its new D-Link Wi-Fi Baby Camera includes HD video, motion and sound detection hardware, temperature sensors, night vision, ability to play lullabies, and video recording. The new device retails at $179.99. D-Link's hew Wi-Fi camera can be access via any Internet connection, whether via (More info...)
posted on Monday, March 31, 2014(Full story)