Tuesday, December 2, 2014El Loco Finds $2.3M For Mobile App TranslationsWalnut-based El Loco, which provides localization services for mobile app developers, has raised $2.3M in a seed funding, the company disclosed today. The funding came from angel investors. El Loco says it helps app developers via software which helps extract strings into a usable format, auto-translates phrases, lets developers preview translations visually within the app, and re-integrate all those translated strings back into the application.
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Is North Korea Behind Sony Pictures Hack?Is the massive hack against Sony Pictures a result of North Korean hacking? A number of reports suggest that the country might be behind the hacking of Sony Pictures last week, which completely took down Sony's corporate network--and apparently also has been linked to the release of a number of current and as-yet-to-be-released films to file sharing sites. The reports speculate that North Korea officials may have been irked by the upcoming release of the Sony Pictures comedy The Interview, where (More info...)
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SendGrid Gets $20M More For Email DeliverySendGrid, the developer of email delivery platform used heavily by app developers, has raised $20M more in a Series C, venture funding round, the company said this morning. The company--which has significant operations in Orange County--said the Bain Capital Ventures, along with Bessemer Venture Partners and Foundry Group. SendGrid has a big operation in Orange, with a focus on engineering and software. The company's main headquarters are in Boulder, Colorado.
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SpaceX's Newest High Tech Job: Farmer?In what might be the strangest position available at Elon Musk's pioneering space rocket firm, SpaceX has posted a job for a farmer on its job page--a strange mix of the high tech world of space travel and farming. According to the position, SpaceX is seeking a farmer with a minimum of 10 years of row crop farming experience in central Texas, where it currently has operations in McGregor. Agriculture.com speculates the position has to do with tax exempt status for agriculture in that state, as m (More info...)
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Avanir Pharmaceuticals Acquired For $3.5 BillionAliso Viejo-based Avanir Pharmaceuticals said today that it has entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by Japanese company Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., in a deal worth approximately $3.5 billion. Avanir--which is publicly held--said that Otsuka has agreed to pay $17.00 per share in cash for the company. The deal is subject to the waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act. Avanir Pharmaceuticals said it was advised by Centerview Partners LLC and Latham (More info...)
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Ingram Micro Buys Company In TurkeySanta Ana-based computer products distributor Ingram Micro is extending its footprint in Turkey, saying that it has acquired Armada, which it says is the largest value-add technology distributor in that country. Financial terms of the buy were not disclosed. Ingram Micro said Armada has 2013 sales of over $280M. Ingram Micro said the buy will enhance its access and reach into Turkey's fast growing technology industry.
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Western Digital Adds Board MemberIrvine-based Western Digital Corp. (WDC) said Monday that it has named a new member to its board of directors, adding Martin Cole to the body. Cole had previously been at Accenture, where he had served for 34 years. Cole was most recently CEO of Accenture's Technology Group. He also sits on the board of Cloudera. WD said it now has nine people on its board of directors. Western Digital is a manufacturer of hard disk drives and other storage products.
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Procore Names Chief Marketing OfficerCarpinteria-based Procore Technologies, which develops cloud-based software for the construction industry, has named Matthew Reid as its new Chief Marketing Officer. Reid previously served at Impact Radius, and also served at Citrix Onlne, Gehry Technologies, Eucalyptus Systems, and Shunra Software. Procore said Reid will head up all corporate and product marketing for the company. Procore develops construction management software used to manage large construction projects. The company is ventur (More info...)
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lynda.com Gets Award For Electric Vehicle EffortsCarpinteria-based Lynda.com, which offers up an online learning and education site, has been awarded by the Department of Energy for its sustainability initiatives around plug in vehicles, the company said this week. lynda.com said the award comes as the number of EV drivers at the company has grown by more than 500 percent in the last two years, and was due to its installation of on-site plug-in-electric vehicle chargers at its Carpinteria headquarters, San Francisco offices, and other efforts. (More info...)
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