Tuesday, January 13, 2015SpaceX Plans Expansion In SeattleHawthorne, California-based SpaceX has opened up a new office in Seattle, where it plans to hire "thousands", according to CEO Elon Musk today. Musk, speaking on Bloomberg, said the new office will
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iPourIt Gets $2M For Beer Serving SystemiPourIt, which develops computer-controlled, self-serve, beer- and wine-dispensing systems, has raised $2M more in a Series A-1 funding, according to the company. The startup, which is based in Orange County, said that the funding round came from the Tech Coast Angels, Pasadena Angels and Harvard Business School Alumni Angels. iPourIt's system is used for dispensing wine and beer at bars, restaurants, stadiums, and arenas. iPourIt's system lets users pour their own beer and wine, and tracks and (More info...)
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Woody Allen To Create Online Video Series For AmazonFamed director Woody Allen has signed a deal with the streaming television arm of Amazon.com, Amazon Studios, to create a new television series for Amazon's Prime Instant Video, Amazon said today. Details on the deal to bring the first TV show created by Allen to the online world were not announced. The new series will show on Prime Instant Video in the US, UK, and Germany. In a statement, Woody Allen said "I don't know how I got into this. I have no ideas and I'm not sure where to begin. My gue (More info...)
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International Rectifier Acquisition By Infineon CompleteEl Segundo-based International Rectifier>, the developer of power semiconductors, is now officially part of Infineon, Infineon said this morning. Infineon paid approximately $3 billion ofr International Rectiffier. The deal had been announced in August. Infineon said the buy will help it with small and medium enterprise customers in the US and Asia, and also help expand its expertise in power semiconductors and Gallium Nitride circuits.
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Tinder Buys Chill, The Maker Of TappyLos Angeles-based dating app developer Tinder has acquired Chill, the maker of Tappy, a Snapchat-like instant messaging service which revolves around photo sharing. Financial terms of the buy were not disclosed. As part of the buy, Tappy will shut down. Chill was founded by Brian Norgard and Dan Gould, and was venture backed by William Morris Endeavor (WME), Kleiner, 500 Startups, Redpoint Ventures, Crunchfund, Science Media, Troy Carter and Atlas Venture. Chill had undergone a huge number of pi (More info...)
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Nasty Gal's Amoruso Steps Down From CEO PostSophia Amoruso, the CEO and founder of Los Angeles-based Nasty Gal, has stepped down from the CEO post at the fashion e-commerce firm, but will remain as Executive Chairman at the company, Nasty Gal said Monday. Amoruso is being replaced by current Nasty Gal executive Sherree Waterson in the CEO position. Amoruso, in a blog post, said she had been thinking about the change for two years, because she was not sure if the "CEO role is one that I want". Amoruso said the change will "give me the free (More info...)
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TrueCar Taps Owen Wilson As Voice of TrueCarSanta Monica-based online car buying service TrueCar said this morning that it has inked a deal with actor, producer and writer Owen Wilson to serve as the "voice of TrueCar" in a set of TV, radio, and Internet ads. Financial details of the deal were not announced. TrueCar said Wilson is featured in a series of spots set to roll out in the middle of the month. Wilson is currently starring in Night at the Museum 3. TrueCar said its new series of ads was created by creative agency Tiny Rebellion, (More info...)
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ID Analytics Gets PatentSan Diego-based ID Analytics reported today that it has been granted a U.S. patent on the company's identity manipulation detection system and method. The patent, U.S. Patent Number 13/494,976, was granted on December 23, 2014, and names Stephen Coggeshall, Wenzhoung Zhou, and Viktoria Rojkova as inventors. ID Analytics said the patent helps detect whether a consumer shows signs of deliberate identity manipulation that would indicate a significant risk of fraud. Coggeshall is ID Analytics' chief (More info...)
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Allegro Opthalmics Raises $20M From Hanmi PharmaceuticalSan Juan Capistrano-based Allegro Opthalmics, a developer of treatments for eye diseases such as wet age-related macular degeneration (wet AMD), reported this morning that it has raised $20M in a strategic investment from Hanmi Pharmaceutical. The investment came as part of a licensing agreement between Allegro and South Korea's Hanmi, covering Allegro's Luminate (ALG-1001) compound, which is aimed at treating vitreo-retinal conditions. Allegro said its product is an intraocular injection for vi (More info...)
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j2 Global's General Counsel, Jeff Adelman, Passes AwayLos Angeles-based j2 Global said this morning that Jeff Adelman, its Vice President, General Counsel, and Secretary, has passed away. Adelman, who was 48, died after a brief illness. Adelman had been at j2 Global for more than 14 years. Prior to j2 Global, he had been in private practice at Miller, Canfield, Paddock and Stone, PLC. j2 said that Adelman helped evolve the company's corporate structure, assisted in the company's M&A program, and started its intellectual property division. j2 Global (More info...)
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