Wednesday, May 6, 2015


SpaceX Tests Astronaut Safety System
Hawthorne-based SpaceX launched a test early Wednesday morning, to help test an astronaut safety system intended to deliver astronauts safely in the case of an aborted launchpad liftoff. SpaceX has not yet reported on the results of that test, however, SpaceX founder Elon Musk said the company's Dragon capsule reached a top speed of 345 mph, going from 0 to 100 mph in 1.2 seconds. The tests were held at Cape Canaveral, and are part of an effort for SpaceX to start delivering astronauts to space. (More info...)
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DealerSocket Buys AutoStar Solutions
San Clemente-based auto dealership software developer DealerSocket has acquired fellow automotive dealer management software company AutoStar Solutions, according to the company. Financial terms of the buy were not disclosed. AutoStar Solutions says it develops dealer management software for the "Buy Here Pay Here (BHPH)" market. The software is used for finance, wholesale, and leasing management. Buy Here Pay Here dealers operate in a controversial segment of the car buying market, offering up (More info...)
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Oculus Rift To Ship In Q1 2016
Irvine-based Oculus VR said this morning that it has set the shipping date for the Oculus Rift virtual reality systems, in Q1 of 2016. According to Oculus, it will begin taking pre-orders later this year. Oculus--first raised funding for the Rift on Kickstarter back in August of 2012, and since then has only been delivering units to developers, despite a huge $2 billion acquisition of the company by Facebook in 2014.
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Qualcomm Backs Cubic Telecom With New Investment
San Diego-based Qualcomm is leading an investment in an Irish developer of machine-to-machine (M2M) tools, as one of the two major investors in the latest investment round in Cubic Telecom. Cubic Telecom said it raised EUR18 in a round from Audi Electronics Venture GmbH and Qualcomm Incorporated. Cubic said this is the fourth investment by Qualcomm into Cubic, whose other investors include Sierra Wireless, ACT Venture Capital, TPS Investment Limited and Enterprise Ireland.
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Microsemi Wins $6.1M Defense Contract
Aliso Viejo-based Microsemi reported it has won a $6.1M, defense contract from the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD). No other details on the contract were released. According to Microsemi, the deal goes towards manufacturing of highly secure receivers for GPS-guided munitions. Microsemi is a developer of a wide range of semiconductors.
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ReachLocal Raises $25M, As Losses Increase
Woodland Hills-based ReachLocal, the publicly held, online marketing provider for small and local businesses, said Tuesday that it has raised $25M in a term loan. The funding came from Herculus Technology Growth Capital, and comes as the company reported sharper losses and a significant dropoff in revenues. ReachLocal said it lost $12.7M on revenues of $99.56M for the first quarter of 2015, compared with a loss of $6.3M on revenues of $124.7M in Q1 of the prior year. ReachLocal said it is cuttin (More info...)
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Fullscreen Buys McBeard
Los Angeles-based MCN Fullscreen has acquired social media studio McBeard, the two coampanies said earlier this week. McBeard, which is also based in Los Angeles, provides custom content production and distribution to such clients as Coca-Cola, 20th Century Fox, Sony Pictures, Mary Kay, NBC Universal, Warner Bros., Mattel, Netflix, and AT&T. The company was founded byAlec McNayr and Alan Beard. Financial details of the acquisition were not announced.
posted on Wednesday, May 6, 2015(Full story)