Thursday, February 26, 2015INVST Targets Institutional Investments, Signs New ClientsINVST, a Westlake Village-based startup which offers up an online platform to help alternative investment funds find accredited investors, has signed up three new clients for its service, the company said this week. The startup--founded and led by Alon Goren--said it has signed up Sperry Van Ness, DealPoint Merrill; Canyon Creek Capital; and Benhamou Global Ventures as clients of the company. Sperry Van Ness, DealPoint Merrill is an operator and owner of retail shopping centers and self-storage (More info...)
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Slickdeals Taps OpenX, Twitter Vets For BoardLos Angeles-based Slickdeals, the online coupon and deal site led by Josh Meyers, has tapped two technology veterans for its board. Slickdeals said Thursday that it has named Tim Cadogan, the CEO of Pasadena's OpenX, along with Nathan Hubbard, head of commerce at Twitter, to its board of directors. Prior to becoming CEO of OpenX, Cadogan was Senior Vice President of Global Advertising Marketplaces at Yahoo!. Prior to Twitter, Hubbard was CEO of Live Nation Ticketing, and was CEO of Musictoday. M (More info...)
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3D Robotics Lands $50M For Drone Technology3D Robotics, the unmanned aerial vehicle maker behind the IRIS, X8, and many other drone vehicles, said Thursday that it has raised $50M in a Series C venture funding round. The funding was led by Qualcomm Ventures. The company--which has major operations in San Diego--said the deal comes along with a partnership with Qualcomm, where it will use Qualcomm's Snapdragon processors in its design. 3D Robotics not only sells drone hardware, it also makes all of its technology available through open so (More info...)
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Twenty20 Gets $20M For Crowdsourced Stock PhotographyMarina Del Rey-based Twenty20 is taking aim at the stock photography market, announcing this morning that it has raised $20M in a Series A funding and launched its commercial image catalog out of beta. The startup--led by Matt Munson--said the funding was led by Canaan Partners, and also included First Round Capital, Bullpen Capital, and VersionOne Ventures. The company say s it is looking to connect photographers with creative professionals, helping to provide crowdsourced stock imagery to busi (More info...)
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Luxe Valet Raises $20MLuxe Valet, the on-demand valet parking app provider which launched into LA in January, has reportedly raised $20M in a new financing. The funding came from Redpoint and Venrock, and also included the company's prior investors, including Google Ventures, Sherpa Ventures, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Foundation Capital, and Data Collective, according to the report. Luxe Valet is also backed by LA's Upfront Ventures, which was not mentioned in the report.
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Brikk Blings Up The Apple Watch With Diamonds, GoldNeed some serious bling on your new Apple Watch? Los Angeles-based design firm Brikk is bringing on some serious bling to the Apple Watch, saying this morning that it is launching 30 models of the Apple Watch availablegold, platinum, and studded with diamonds. The company said the models range from $7,495 to $69,995 for its versions of the Apple Watch, with its high end model, the Lux Watch Omni, wrapped with over 12 carats of diamonds. Brikk said it expects to ship its version of the Apple Watc (More info...)
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Meritage Pharma Acquired For $70M By ShireSan Diego-based pharmaceuticals firm Meritage Pharma has been acquired by Shire plc, Shire announced this week in a deal worth $70M upfront plus unspecified earnout. Shire said the deal gives it the global rights to Meritage's Oral Budesonide Suspension (OBS), which is being targeted at the treatment of eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE), a rare, chronic inflammatory gastrointestinal (GI) disease. Shire said the acquisition will enhance its late stage pipeline. Meritage Pharma was venture backed by (More info...)
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TherMark Acquired By FerroIrvine-based laser marketing technology developer TherMark Holdings has been acquired by Cleveland-based Ferro Corporation, in a deal worth $5.5M, the two said late Wednesday afternoon. TherMark develops laser marking technology used to permanently fuse marking materials to metals, ceramics, glass, and other surfaces. Ferro had been the supplier of those marking materials to TherMark. TherMark was backed by the Tech Coast Angels and Pasadena Angels, and had announced a total of around $2.55M in (More info...)
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WD Rolls Out Network Attached StorageIrvine-based Western Digital said today that it has rolled out a new set of network attached storage devices, aimed at the creative professional and small business market. The company said it launched four new products in its My Cloud line including two- and four-bay network attached storage systems, with versions aimed at the prosumer market, and parallel models aimed at small business customers. Both systems support up to 24 TB of storage, multiple RAID options, backup software, and more. The (More info...)
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Iteris Loses CEOSanta Ana-based Iteris, which provides traffic management technology, said its CEO and president, Abbas Mohaddes, has resigned. The company said Mohaddes resigned from both his position and the company's board to "pursue other opportunities". The company has appointed Kevin Daly--who was on the company's board--as interim CEO until the company finds a replacement. Iteris said it has tapped Heidrick and Struggles for the CEO search. Mohaddes had been CEO of Iteris since 2007.
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