Wednesday, December 3, 2014WhipClip, Led By Richard Rosenblatt, Gets $20M For Video Clipping AppsLos Angeles-based WhipClip, a yet-to-be-launched startup led by Demand Media founder Richard Rosenblatt, revealed today that it has raised $20M in a venture funding round. The startup is tackling legal clipping of video, saying it is creating a mobile app which lets consumers clip video from television shows and share them with their friends. The company has raised funding from Raine Ventures, Institutional Venture Partners, William Morris Endeavor, Ziffren Brittenham LLP, Greycroft Partners, an (More info...)
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Zillow Accused Of Frat House Culture In IrvineOnline real estate startup Zillow, which operates a major sales center in Irvine, is the target of an employment lawsuit which alleges the company created a "adult frat house culture" at the location. According to the lawsuit, a sales consultant at the company--who was fired in August--faced "repeated sexual overtures" from male supervisors. According to The Recorder, the lawsuit is the third employment lawsuit for Zillow in a month. Zillow set up shop in Irvine in 2012, opening a new office aft (More info...)
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Wallaby Acquired By BankratePasadena-based Wallaby Financial, the developer of web and mobile apps to help consumers optimize their credit card spending, has been acquired by Bankrate. Financial terms of the buy were not disclosed. Bankrate said that it will combine wallaby's product family and technology with its existing credit card distribution platform, including its CreditCards.com online credit marketplace. Wallaby was founded by Matthew Goldman, and says it has more than 100,000 users who have been using its apps an (More info...)
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Google Expands In Playa VistaGoogle looks to have some big plans for Los Angeles expansion, as news broke this morning that the company has acquired 12 acres in Playa Vista, paying an estimated $120M on the property, next to the hangar where Howard Hughes built the "Spruce Goose". According to the LA Times, the property is zoned for almost 900,000 square feet of commercial space. Google has not yet said what it intends to do with the property, which is nearby its YouTube Space, plus offices of Rubicon Project, Belkin, Micro (More info...)
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Sonos Raises $130M In New FundingSanta Barbara-based whole home music system maker Sonos has raised $130M in a new funding round, according to a regulatory filing from the firm. No details of the funding have yet been announced by the company. According to the filing, eight investors participated in the new funding for the company. Sonos has previously raised funding from BV Capital, Elevation Partners, Index Ventures, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., and Redpoint Ventures. The company last raised a round worth $135M in 2012. So (More info...)
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New Effort Taps Crowdsourced PCs To Help Find Ebola CureA new effort by San Diego-based Scripps Research Institute and IBM is seeking to tap into the collective power of crowdsoruced PCs and Android mobile devices, to help find a cure for Ebola. According to IBM and The Scripps Institute, they have launched a new effort called "Outsmart Ebola Together", which seeks to harness the power of idle computers to create a "virtual supercomputer" for data processing in the Scripps Research Institute research efforts. That "virtual supercomputer"--made up of (More info...)
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Tillster Ties Into Mobile Marketing SoftwareLos Angeles-based Tillster, which develops digital ordering and engagement platforms used by quick service and fast casual restaurants, said yesterday that it is integrating its tools with mobile marketing company Kahuna. Financial details of the partnership were not disclosed. The two said the deal will provide the ability to target guests with content and offers, letting restaurants communicate with customers via email, mobile web, apps, and social promotions. Tillster is led by Perse Faily, a (More info...)
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InstaMed Raises $17 M For Healthcare PaymentsNewport Beach- and Philadelphia-based InstaMed, which operates a healthcare payments network, has raised $2M more in a private placement to accelerate its business, bringing the total raised in its round to $17M. According to the company, the private placement was oversubscribed by $2M. The company said the new funding came from existing and new investors. Names of those investors were not announced. InstaMed said it has over 150 employees. InstaMed says it has more than 11,000 healthcare provid (More info...)
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Illumina, Sequenom Settle Patent LawsuitSan Diego-based Illumina and fellow San Diego company Sequenom said the two have ended a patent dispute, with Illumina paying Sequenom $50M, plus additional payments through 2020. The two also said they will pool their noninvasive, prenatal testing intellectual property, and that Illumina will gain the exclusive worldwide rights to utilize that intellectual property to develop and sell in-viitro diagnostics kits for noninvasive prenatal testing, with both companies sharing revenue from the paten (More info...)
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