Thursday, March 12, 2015Superconductor Technologies Chops StaffSuperconductor Technologies, the developer of superconducting wire and wireless component which has operations in Santa Barbara, has cut nearly a third of the company's jobs in February, and reduced its staff to 30. The publicly traded company disclosed the cuts yesterday, saying that it cut 15 employees and implemented other cost cutting measures, due to uncertainty in its business. It's unclear how many of those cuts were in its Santa Barbara location, where the company had been headquartered (More info...)
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RadPad: New Metro Line Will Boost RentsLooking for a new apartment in LA (or perhaps, looking for some investment property)? The new LA Metro extensions across the LA basin are expected to boost rent prices by at least 25%, according to LA rental marketplace RadPad. The startup has run the numbers--and created an impressive infographic detailing the typical rent prices of 1 bedroom prices in LA along those new extensions. Good news for your commute time, or if you are a real estate investor along these corridors, but bad news for you (More info...)
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TicketManager Sponsors American Airlines CenterCalabasas-based TicketManager, the online ticket management service led by Tony Knopp, has signed on with the American Airlines Center in Dallas in a sponsorship deal, according to the company. TicketManager said that the center--which is the home of the NBA Dallas Mavericks and NHL Dallas Stars--is featuring the company's service through a branding presence, which includes promotional giveaway nights, social media, and more. TicketManager's service help corporate customers manage tickets to the (More info...)
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Upfront Ventures Names Pando's Carney As AssociateLos Angeles-based venture capital investor Upfront Ventures has hired technology journalist Michael Carney as an Associate, Pando said Wednesday. Carney had covered technology on the West Coast for Pando. Upfront has been bolstering its reach in the LA market recently, most recently adding Chamillionaire as an EIR for the firm. Carney, in his coverage of LA, hasn't hesitated to skewer local technology industry organizations and bash local companies, so it will be interesting to see his transitio (More info...)
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Kura Oncology Finds $60M For Cancer TreatmentsLa Jolla-based Kura Oncology, a biopharmaceuticals startup focusing on treatments for solid tumors and blood cancers, has raised $60M in a private placement. The company said the funding came from EcoR1 Capital, along with Fidelity Management & Research Company, ARCH Venture Partners, Boxer Capital of Tavistock Life Sciences, Partner Fund Management, Nextech Invest, and others. In addition to the funding, the company said it has licensed technology from Janssen Pharmaceutica, and has entered int (More info...)
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Lyft Lands $530M To Battle UberThere's been a major, market battle in Los Angeles over the last few years, between on-demand ride services such as Lyft and Uber, not to mention local taxi and transportation companies. One of the players in the battle--Lyft--has just raised $530M more, from Japanese e-commerce company Rakuten. Rakuten said it agreed to purchase and 11.9 percent stake in Lyft, investing $300M in the company as part of a larger, $530M Series E funding for Lyft. The funding follows a bigger, $1.2 billion fundrais (More info...)
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StarMaker Raises $6.5M From LA, Other InvestorsStarMaker, a startup which provides tools to help musical talent create professional videos, earn money, and help build their following, said yesterday that it has raised $5.5M in a Series B funding round. The company, which has offices in LA but is based in San Francisco, said the round was led by Raine Ventures, and also included Crosscut Ventures, Three Bridges Ventures, Qualcomm Ventures, iGlobe Partners, GREE International, plus local LA angels Allen DeBevoise of Machinima and Joe Perez of (More info...)
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Katch Launches New ProductLos Angeles-based Katch, the advertising technology developer headed by Patrick Quigley, said Wednesday that it has launched a new software platform, aimed at helping brands monetize all of their website visitors. The company--which recently changed its name from Vantage Media--said that brands can license its real-time bidding exchange, to that advertisers can target and bid on website visitors to their sites.
The new product reflects the new focus of Katch, which is now focusing on the back e (More info...)
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Zadara Expands In EuropeIrvine-based storage-as-a-service provider Zadara Storage, which is led by storage veteran Nelson Nahum, said yesterday that it expanded in Europe, with TelecityGroup's Cloud-IX service. Zadara said its enterprise, storage-as-a-service is now available in Telecity's 39 European data center facilities. Zadara's storage-as-a-service is aimed at the enterprise, and allows those companies to back up and store data to the cloud, combining a combination of local, pay-as-you-go onsite storage, which co (More info...)
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