Wednesday, December 17, 2014Snapchat Hit By Collateral Damage From Sony HackVenice-based instant messaging app developer Snapchat is the latest victim of the hacking of Sony Pictures by a hacking group, which is believed to be backed by North Korea. Snapchat's Evan Spiegel posted a note on Twitter entitled Keeping Secrets, bemoaning the exposure of the company's business plan due to hacked emails which have been covered by many publications. Sony said Wednesday that it would not be releasing "The Interview" to theaters, after threats to theater-goers who dared to attend (More info...)
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Spokeo Hits 150 Employees, Reports GrowthPasadena-based people search engine provider Spokeo is up to 150 employees in its Pasadena headquarters, almost double the number of employees it had in 2012, the company said today. The site--which is led by Harrison Tang--said the growth compaes as it saw 159 percent revenue growth between 2012 and 2014. Financials were not released by the privately held firm. Spokeo, which has been around since 2006, lets users search for people using their name, phone number, email address, or usernames; the (More info...)
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TrueX Media Acquired For $200M, Says ReportLos Angeles- and New York-based video advertising company TrueX has been acquired by 21st Century Fox, according to a report from the WSJ this morning. The deal is reported to be worth $200M. TrueX Media offers up interactive, video advertising technology, and is led by Joe Marchese. TrueX was previously known as SocialVibe, and is venture backed by Jafco, Norwest Venture Partners, Pinnacle Ventures, and Redpoint Ventures.
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Hulu Expands Content With Deal With Disney-ABC TelevisionLos Angeles-based streaming television provider Hulu is bolstering its premium content lineup, with a new deal with Disney-ABC Television. Hulu said yesterday that it is in a new licensing agreement which brings video-on-demand rights to Resurrection, Mistresses, and Lifetime's Devious Maids. Financial details of the license deal were not disclosed. Hulu said the deal also includes over 750 library episodes of other titles, such as Melissa & Joey, Alias, Army Wives, Body of Proof, Twisted and M (More info...)
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XPRIZE Extends Deadline for Google Lunar XPRIZE To 2016Los Angeles-based XPRIZE, which runs a series of multi-million dollar challenges aimed at helping to advance technology innovation, said yesterday that it has extended the deadline for the Google Lunar XPRIZE to the end of 2016. XPRIZE said the deadline for documenting a scheduled launch is now December 31, 2015, for teams to move forward in the competition. The Google Lunar XPRIZE is dangling $30M to the team that is able to successfully place a robot on the moon's surface, which explores at le (More info...)
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ID Analytics Names CFOSan Diego-based ID Analytics said today that it has named Timothy Laughlin as the company's new Chief Financial Officer. Laughlin comes from Leap Wireless/Cricket Wireless, where he had been Acting Treasurer, and also served at H&R Block, FriendlyWorks, Inc. and Arthur Anderson LLC. ID Analytics is a provider of risk management and analytics software and is owned by LifeLock, which acquired the company back in 2012.
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Cubic Buys DTECH LABS For $114.5MSan Diego-based CUBIC said late Tuesday that it has acquired DTECH LABS, a provider of modular networking and baseband communications equipment. CUBIC said it will pay up to $114.5M for DTECH, which it said it will use to bolster its secure communications business. DTECH supplies networking and communications products used by the military, for portable, secure operations, and supplies customers such as the Special Operations Command (SOCOM), the U.S. Marine Corps, and other government and commer (More info...)
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Quality Systems Names CIOIrvine-based healthcare information systems provider Quality Systems, Inc. said this morning that it has named Zachary J. Sherburne a the company's new Global Chief Information Officer. Sherburne was previously CIO and VP information Services at Spectrum Brands, and also served at Stanley Black & Decker, Arthur Andersen & Co., Deloitte Consulting and Computer Sciences Corp. QI said Sherburne will be responsible for oversight and delivery of its technology to its clients, which include medical (More info...)
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FastSpring Joins Recurring Revenue Industry GroupSanta Barbara-based FastSpring, which operates a cloud-based, e-commerce merchandising and fulfillment service aimed at software and SaaS companies, said it has joined a new group called the ServiceSource Recurring Revenue Alliance. The group--led by ServiceSource--is developing best practices for recurring revenue businesses. FastSpring is led by Chris Lueck.
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