Tuesday, May 13, 2014Russia Cuts Off Rockets, Threatens ISS Due To UkraineIn a move which looks to bolster technology mogul Elon Musk's efforts to help ferry astronauts--and military cargo--to space for the United States, Russia has banned the use of Russian-made rocket engines for launching military satellites, and has threatened cutting off access to the International Space Station, in retaliation for a plan in Washington to deny export licenses for items which could help the Russian military. Russian deputy prime minister, Dmitry Rogozin, said that Russia will deny (More info...)
posted on Tuesday, May 13, 2014(Full story)
Jukin Media Gets Strategic FundingLos Angeles-based viral video company Jukin Media has raised a strategic funding round, for that company's video entertainment network on YouTube, according to the company. The company said the funding came from strategic investors, including Maker Studios, Bertelsmann Digital Media Investments (BDMI), Launchpad LA, as well as angels, including Richard Wolpert and Brad Zions. Jukin Media's YouTube channels include viral video channels FailArmy, JukinVideo, and CutiesNFuzzies. The company says it (More info...)
posted on Tuesday, May 13, 2014 (More)(Full story)
Hulu Snags New Marketing Head From NetflixLos Angeles-based streaming television site Hulu has announced a new SVP and Head of Marketing at the company, the company said Tuesday, tapping Jenny Wall for the position. Wall was most recently at Netflix, as part of that company's global creative team. Hulu said wall had headed up the Netflix "Watch Responsibly" compaign, plus campaigns for "House of Cards," "Orange is the New Black," "Arrested Development," and "Hemlock Grove". She also previously served at BLT Communications and HBO.
posted on Tuesday, May 13, 2014(Full story)
Airbnb Launches Last Minute Getaways In LALive in Los Angeles, thinking of a quick flight to LA, or just want a last minute getaway in the city? Airbnb said this morning that it has launched a last-minute, booking and getaway feature specifically in Los Angeles and San Francisco. Airbmb said it has added a new service to let travelers find and book places through the service, immediately, rather than going through the usual back-and-forth of booking an Airbnb accomodation. Airbnb said the new feature is aimed at last minute weekend geta (More info...)
posted on Tuesday, May 13, 2014(Full story)
FindTheBest Takes On Real Estate Comparisons, SearchSanta Barbara-based FindTheBest, the online comparisons site led by Kevin O'Connor, has branched out into yet another vertical today--real estate. According to the company, it has launched FindTheBest Homes, a new site which helps consumers find and compare homes in a market. The new site lets users search for all kinds of homes--those for sale, pending, recently sold, in foreclosure, or even those that aren't for sale--and compare things like square footage, bathrooms, price, and other amenitie (More info...)
posted on Tuesday, May 13, 2014(Full story)
Swagbucks Raises $60M, Sets Davis As CEOLos Angeles-based Swagbucks, the web-based rewards and offers site, said this morning that it has raised $60M in funding--the company's first, external capital round--and also appointed Chuck Davis as CEO of the company. According to Swagbucks, the funding round comes from Technology Crossover Ventures (TCV). Davis was Chairman and CEO of Fandango, and is also an early investor in Swagbucks. Swagbucks' former CEO, Josef Gorowitz, has become President ofthe company. Swagbucks operates an online r (More info...)
posted on Tuesday, May 13, 2014 (More)(Full story)
Dermtech Files For IPOLa Jolla-based Dermtech, a developer of non-invasive, gene expression tests for helping to diagnose skin cancer, has filed for an IPO. According to the company, it is looking to raised $25.0M in its IPO, and has applied to list on the NASDAQ Capital Market as DMTK. The company's IPO is being underwritten by Maxim Group LLC and Feltl and Company. The company is backed by angel investors, including Gary Jacobs and his firm, Jacobs Investment Company, as well as angels from the Tech Coast Angels.
posted on Tuesday, May 13, 2014(Full story)
Liquid Grids Gets Series A For Healthcare MarketingSan Diego-based Liquid Grids, a developer of digital advertising software aimed at the healthcare industry, said this morning that it has raised a Series A funding round. Size of the round was not announced. According to Liquid Grids, the funding was led by Miramar Ditial Ventures. Liquid Grids is headed by Malcolm Bohm, and says it analyzes healthcare social media and helps identify "disease-specific personas" which it uses to shape multi channel advertising campaigns. The company said it has a (More info...)
posted on Tuesday, May 13, 2014 (More)(Full story)
GenMark Diagnostics Names CFOCarlsbad-based Genmark Diagnostics said Monday that it has named Scott Mendel as the company's Chief Financial Officer. GenMark said Mendel joins the company from Active Network, where he had been CFO of the company, up until its sale to Vista Equity. He also had previously served at General Electric, in GE's Healthcare IT division. GenMark said that Mendel replaces Richard Slansky, who is leaving the company for personal reasons. The company said Slansky will help through an "appropriate" trans (More info...)
posted on Tuesday, May 13, 2014(Full story)
KeepItSafe Debuts Mobile Backup SoftwareKeepItSafe, an online backup service provider owned by Los Angeles-based j2 Global, said this morning that it has launched a new, cloud-based mobile data backup and data loss prevention (DLP) product called KeepItSafe Mobile. According to j2 Global, the new product is aimed at protecting data on employee devices, particularly in corporate, bring-your-own-device (BYOD) environments. Pricing on the new product was not announced. The new software works on laptops, PCs, smart phones, and tablets. j2 (More info...)
posted on Tuesday, May 13, 2014(Full story)
Metacloud Adds Virtual Extensible LAN SupportPasadena-based Metacloud, the provider of OpenStack-based private cloud deployment services, said it has begun supporting what is called Virtual Extensible LAN (VXLAN) networking support. According to Metacloud, the move eliminates the typical scalability problems found in large cloud computing environments. The company said the move will help boost big data performance of its customers. Metacloud explains the move comes due to requests of clients wanting to migrate their big data environments i (More info...)
posted on Tuesday, May 13, 2014(Full story)