Wednesday, April 30, 2014Fullscreen Signs Up Comedian, Actress Grace HelbigLos Angeles-based video content network Fullscreen said today that it has signed up video blogger, comedian, and actress Grace Helbig, saying that it will provide channel representation and brand integration for Helbig. Financial details of the deal were not disclosed. Fullscreen says Helbig has had more than 210 million views of her online videos, and has over a half million Twitter followers, in addition to millions of fans on her Tumblr blog and YouTube channel.
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MovieLaLa Gets Funding From Salesforce.com FounderSocial networking site MovieLaLa--which focuses on upcoming movies--said Tuesday that it has raised an angel investment from Salesforce.com founder Marc Benioff. The startup's angels include a number of folks from the Silicon Beach content world, including Allen DeBevoise, Jim Moloshok, and others. The company says that it has connections both in Silicon Valley and Los Angeles, and is looking to "bridge the gap between Silicon Valley and Silicon Beach." MovieLaLa said that Benioff's investment b (More info...)
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Hulu: Six Million Hulu Plus Users, New In-Stream PurchasingLos Angeles-based streaming television provider Hulu said today that its Hulu Plus subscription service has just passed six million subscribers, which it credited to both exclusive access to broadcast and cable shows, as well as its own original content effort, Hulu Originals. The company--which was briefing analysts and others in New York today--also said it plans on rolling out three new ad units, including an in-stream purchase widget which will let consumers order items directly from ads. Hu (More info...)
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AssetAvenue Hires Early Indiegogo EmployeeLos Angeles-based AssetAvenue, the real estate crowdfunding site led by David Manshoory, has snagged the first employee out of Indiegogo. According to AssetAvenue, it has hired Adam Chapnick, who was the first employee out of the Indiegogo crowdfunding site back in 2009. Chapnick will serve as Chief Strategy Officer for AssetAvenue, which operates an online crowdfunding site to find investors for commercial and other real estate deals.
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Inktank Acquired For $175M By Red HatLos Angeles-based open source storage software developer Inktank, which is behind the Ceph distributed storage system, has been acquired by Red Hat, in a deal worth $175M in cash. Red Hat said it will use the acquisition to bolster its existing storage offerings. Ceph is heavily used in deploying public and private clouds, along with the OpenStack cloud standard. Inktank had been founded in 2012, and is an offspring of local web hosting provider Dreamhost. Dreamhost co-founder Sage Weil created (More info...)
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Otonomy Gets $49M In New FundingSan Diego-based biopharmaceuticals developer Otonomy--which is developing treatments for inner and middle ear disorders--has roped in a big, $49M funding, the company announced this morning. The Series D funding came from Jennison Associates LLC, Perceptive Advisors, Federated Kaufmann Funds, Clough Capital Partners LP, Ally Bridge Group, as well as existing investors OrbiMed Advisors LLC, Novo Ventures, TPG Biotech, Avalon Ventures, Domain Associates, RiverVest Venture Partners, Aperture Ventur (More info...)
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OneRoof Energy Expands, In PhoenixSan Diego-based OneRoof Energy is expanding, the company said, at its existing, Phoenix, Arizona call center. The provider of solar services and installation said it is tripling the jobs at its Pheonix location from 40 employees to 120 full time employees over the next twelve months, as part of a direct sales expansion. OneRoof Energy said it is expanding in Phoenix due to that area's large call center workforce.
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Novatel Wireless Reaches Deal With Investor GroupSan Diego-based Novatel Wireless said Tuesday afternoon that it has agreed to add two new members to its board of directors--as part of an agreement with a disgruntled investor group. Novatel Wireless said it has added Dr. Richard Karp, former Chairman and CEO of Catapult Communications (now owned by Ixia), as well as Alex Mashinsky, Managing Partner of investor group Governing Dynamics, to its board. Mashinsky was founder of GroundLink. The two represent an investor group which has been looking (More info...)
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XYPRO In Management BuyoutSimi Valley-based XYPRO Technology Corporation, a developer of cybersecurity software for HP NonStop, said it has completed a management buyout from the company's founders and previous owners. The company said that Lisa Partridge, Barry Forbes, and Andrew Price bought out the company from prior owners Dale Blommendahl and Sheila Johnson. Financial terms of the sale were not disclosed. XYPRO was founded in 1983.
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