Friday, June 27, 2014


TapZen Raises $8M From Tencent
Los Angeles-based mobile game developer TapZen disclosed this week that it has raised $8M in a funding round from Tencent Holdings Ltd. The company recently launched its first title, "This Means War!". TapZen was founded by Mike Verdu and Amir Rahimi. This Means War! runs on iOS, and allows game players to control their own army of tanks, troops, helicopters and bombers. The title is free.
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Entravision Buys Pulpo Media
Santa Monica-based Spanish language media company Entravision Communications--which owns television, radio, and online media focused on the Latino market--said earlier this week that it has acquired online advertising company Pulpo Media. The deal was worth a total of $18M, made up of $15M in an initial payment and up to $3M in earn out. Pulpo Media is an online, digital advertising products and technology company focused on Hispanics in the U.S. and Latin America. The company is based in Berkel (More info...)
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Buy.com Exec Moves To Monoprice
Rancho Cucamonga-based Monoprice, which sells a line of branded consumer electronics and accessories, has snagged former Buy.com/Rakuten.com Chief Operating Officer and Chief Marketing Officer Bernard W. Luthi as its new President. According to Blucora--which recently acquired Monoprice--Luthi will head up operations of the Monoprice e-commerce business. Luthi is a Southern California technology veteran, having also been at Newegg.com, PC Mall, and Ingram Micro. Monoprice had been acquired by Bl (More info...)
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Opoli Takes On Uber, Lyft With New App
A new, Los Angeles startup has its eyes on Uber and Lyft, saying that is it looking to "one up" those ride sharing apps with its own transportation app. Opoli said its new app lets license, commercially insured professional drivers bid for your ride, letting users select the driver they prefer and get upfront pricing on a ride. The service--which is initially launching in Los Angeles County--said it avoids the issues with surge pricing, final fare surprises, and safety. In addition, the startup (More info...)
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CAA Backs Distractify
The CAA has put its funding behind a new, online content discovery site called Distractify, as part of a Series A funding round announced this week. Distractify--which is based in New York--said it raised $7M in a Series A funding, which was led by Lightspeed Venture Partners, and also included Lerer Ventures, Advancit Capital and the CAA. Distractify's site revolves around "top 10" photo montage lists for consumers (cute gerbils, cats, and kids) and eye-grabbing photos. It's unclear who at the (More info...)
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Voxox Adds Group Sharing Features
San Diego-based communications service and app developer Voxox said this week that it has expanded its iOS and Android apps to include new, group media sharing features. Voxox said its new, consumer mobile application now lets users share video, images, and locations with contacts and messaging groups. The new feature also includes an expansion of group messaging functionality, letting users create and manage messaging groups of any size. Voxox's apps provides calling, texting, and other feature (More info...)
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