Friday, April 4, 2014SpaceX Set To Get Chance At Military Satellite LaunchesHawthorne-based SpaceX, the commercial rocket company headed by tech mogul Elon Musk, is set to get a chance to bid on launch contracts for the Department of Defense, according to Gen. William Shelton, commander of the U.S. Air Force Space Command. Shelton said in a congressional hearing this week that SpaceX is expected to gain a chance to launch smaller military payloads sometime next year, according to the WSJ. SpaceX has been lobbying to get a chance to launch the United States' military and (More info...)
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TrueCar Files For IPOSanta Monica-based TrueCar has filed for an IPO, saying Friday that it is looking to raise up to $125M on the NASDAQ Global Select Market as TRUE. The IPO is being underwritten by Goldman, Sachs & Co. and J.P. Morgan. TrueCar--which is led by Scott Painter--is backed by USAA, Capricorn Investment Group, Upfront Ventures, Anthem Ventures, Vulcan Capital Growth Equity, Peppy Capital Partners, Arcturus Venture Capital, along with others. TrueCar reported a loss of $22.6M on revenues of $133.958M fo (More info...)
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Solid Concepts Acquired By Stratasys For $295MValencia, California-based Solid Concepts, a provider of 3D printing and prototyping services, has been acquired by Stratasys Ltd. in a deal worth $295M. According to the companies, Stratasys will pay $172M in cash on closing, plus deferred payments of $60M and up to $63M in retention-related payments for Solid Concepts. Solid Concepts operates six, U.S. facilities and employes a total of 450 employees, which uses 3D printing technology for prototyping parts for the medical, aerospace, industria (More info...)
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Newlight Technologies Finds $9.2M For Carbon Negative PlasticsIrvine-based Newlight Technologies, a developer of technology which converts greenhouse gases into plastic, has raised $9.2M in a funding round, the company said this week. According to the company, the new funding brings its total raised to $18.8M. Newlight said the funding came from both new and existing investors. Names of those investors were not announced. Newlight is led by Mark Herrema, and says its technology converts greenhouse gases like methane into carbon-negative plastics, which rep (More info...)
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Swarm Aims To Rejuvenate San Diego's Software Industry
It hasn't been a great few months for San Diego's software and technology industry, as the city has seen three, big software companies move their operations, and thousands of jobs, to Texas. However, in a bid to rejuvenate and re-energize the industry, a new effort--Swarm--has just launched to bring together local software entrepreneurs, venture capital, and angel investors, in an attempt to bring new life to the region. According to Swarm, although San Diego has seen growth in investments in (More info...)
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Hulu Launches On Amazon FireTVLos Angeles-based streaming television service Hulu said Thursday that the company has officially launched on Amazon's new, living room video player--the Amazon Fire TV. Hulu said that subscribers to its Hulu Plus premium video service are able to streaming the site's shows, movies, clips, trailers, and more directly to their television through the new Amazon device. Amazon's new box allows users to stream HD video from the Internet to their living room, and competes with similar hardware from R (More info...)
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Lumena Pharmaceuticals Files For IPOSan Diego-based Lumena Pharmaceuticals has filed for an IPO, saying in a filing with the SEC that it is looking to raise up to $75.0M in a public offering. Lumena said that it has applied to list on the NASDAQ Global Market as LIVR. Lumena's IPO is being underwritten by Citigroup, Cowen and Company, and Leerink Partners. Lumena is developing treatments for nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) and other, cholestatic liver diseases and serious metabolic disorders. The company is venture backed by (More info...)
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HandsOn3 Buys BancTecSanta Monica-based buyout fund HandsOn3 said Thursday that it has acquired BancTec, a business process outsourcing (BPO) company based in Dallas, Texas. Financial terms of the buy were not disclosed. According to HandsOn3, it will combine BancTec with its existing portfolio company, Dataforce Group, creating a combined company with annual revenues of over $280M. HandsOn3 said the combined cmpany will have over 4,000 employees across 30 offices. HandsOn3 said it invests in business process servic (More info...)
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