Tuesday, September 16, 2014One Step Closer To Mars For SpaceXThe announcement Tuesday afternoon by NASA that Southern California private rocket and spacecraft developer SpaceX has been selected to help deliver astronauts to the International Space Station, helps move SpaceX one step closer to the ultimate goal: Mars. NASA said it selected SpaceX--along with Boeing--to help deliver astronauts to space, to end the sole reliance the nation currently has on Russia to deliver its astronauts to the International Space Station. SpaceX CEO and technology mogul El (More info...)
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SpaceX To Transport Astronauts To SpaceHawthorne-based SpaceX has been selected by NASA to help transport astronauts to space, the agency said Tuesday afternoon, in a move to return astronaut launches to American soil. According to NASA, both Boeing and SpaceX have been selected to deliver astronauts to the International Space Station. NASA Administrator Charles Bolden said in an announcement that the move will help end the nation's sole reliance on Russia for delivering astronauts to space by 2017, and also help NASA focus on sendin (More info...)
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Insights and Opinions: The Curse of a Modest ExitFor today's Insights and Opinions article, we have an article from angel investor Steve Reich, who talks about the pros and cons of a modest exit in an investment.
You hear about extreme outcomes all the time—the huge exit or a company shutting down. Recently, I got to observe a much more rare event: a company exiting at a modest valuation. The impact on both the team and investors was illuminating.
The company in question built mobile apps for a particular sport, and had 3 million d (More info...)
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University of California Plans $250M Venture Capital FundStartups related to the many University of California campuses in Southern California may soon have a new source of funding: The University of California itself, via a new, $250M venture capital fund. According to UC President Janet Napolitano, the UC Board of Regents is voting this week on approving the $250M fund, UC Ventures, which is expected to launch in 2015. The fund would seek to invest in companies started on campus, from University research, and from students. The fund would come from (More info...)
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3D Robotics Gets Investment From Richard BransonSan Diego-based 3D Robotics, the drone technology developer led by Chris Anderson and Jordi Munoz, has scored a high profile investment from Sir Richard Branson, according to the firm. Financial details of the investment were not disclosed. 3D Robotics said that BRanson was "blown away" by its drones' capabilities. As part of the funding, 3D Robotics released a video made with its drone on Branson's private island.
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Workpop Raises $7.9M To Connect Job Seekers, EmployersLos Angele-sbased Workpop, a new startup founded by former Zynga executive Reed Shaffner and Viddy Co-Founder Chris Ovitz said this morning that it has raised $7.9M in a funding round. The startup is creating an online marketplace and community which seeks to help connect employers and job seekers. The new funding came from Trinity Ventures, and also included SV Angel, Evan Williams and Biz Stone's Obvious Ventures, Cornerstone OnDemand, Joe Lonsdale, Aaron Levie, Slow Ventures, Box Group, Iron (More info...)
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Ixia Files Financial Results, FinallyCalabasas-based Ixia, the developer of network test equipment and software, has filed its second quarter 2014 financial results, along with quarterly reports for its second quarter of 2014, bringing it into compliance with its SEC filings, the company said late Monday. The company said it is now current in filing all required periodic financial reports with the SEC. Ixia had been struggling to put its financial house in order after the surprise departure of its former CEO and subsequent accounti (More info...)
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Zadara Storage Gets Patent AwardIrvine-based Zadara Storage, which develops technology for cloud-based storage services, reported that it has scored a U.S. Patent for its technology. The company said that it received US Patent 8,819,230 for a “Virtual Private Storage Array service for cloud servers”. The patent was filed on November 5, 2011, and names CEO Nelson Nahum, along with Yair Hershko, Yoav Ossia, Shyam Kaushik, Lev Vainblat, Alex Lyakas, Moshe Melnikov, and Vladamir Popovski as inventors. The company was represent (More info...)
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Ceres Names Board ChairmanThousand Oaks-based agricultural biotechnology developer Ceres said Monday that it has named Cheryl Morley as Chairman of its board of directors, and that former director Pascal Brandys has rejoined the company's board. Morley has been on the company's board since 2011. She was previously a VP at Monsanto, and also serves on the boards of Mercy Health System, Fleming Pharmaceuticals and the Missouri Botanical Gardens. Brandys is president and managing member of Biobank Technology Ventures, and h (More info...)
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Semtech Taps IBM Process For High Speed Microwave ChipsCamarillo-based analog and mixed signal semiconductor developer Semtech reported Monday that it is using IBM's 32nm SOI technology for its 64GSPS ADC and DAC cores, aimed at used in high speed, microwave systems-on-a-chip (SoC) products. The analog-to-digital and digital-to-analog cores are used as part of microwave radio systems. Semtech said the chips are being used by Northrop Grumman Corporation (NGC) as part of an DARPA project to develop next general microwave radio systems. Semtech said i (More info...)
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