Friday, September 4, 2015Sphero's Star Wars BB-8 Droid Sells Out OnlineThe BB-8 Droid, the robotic droid from Star Wars which was directly created as a result of the local Disney Accelerator, appears to have sold out online, and now has a two week wait, according to multiple online sellers. Amazon.com has the droid listed as temporarily out of stock, and Sphero, the Disney Accelerator startup which created Sphero, says there is a two week expected ship date on new units of the robot. The robot ball was launched at midnight on Friday, along with a huge number of oth (More info...)
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Docstoc To Be Shut Down By Intuit On December 1stDocstoc, the online document sharing and business documents site which was founded in Santa Monica by Jason Nazar, is being shut down, according to the website. According to a notice posted on the Docstoc site, the site will be closing down effective December 1st. The service said that users can download their public private documents before November 30th. No reason for the shutdown was given. Docstoc was acquired by Intuit in December of 2013, for a rumored price of around $50M--although the pr (More info...)
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Fuhu Rolls Out Star Wars Themed TabletEl Segundo-based Fuhu, the Android tablet maker which develops the popular Nabi tablet for kids, said this morning that it has rolled out a new set of Star Wars themed tablets. Fuhu said it has launched two, special edition tablets based on Star Wars, called The Force, available in two versions related the "Dark Side" and "Light Side", which are themed with sound effects and wallpaper, as well as external case colors. Fuhu said The Force Star Wars accessory bundles will be available initially at (More info...)
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Interview with Youtuber Adorian Deck, On Making A Living On YouTubeIt's a fascinating new world out there in entertainment and media, where YouTube stars are now as popular--or maybe, more popular--than traditional celebrities. In fact, there are many Youtubers who are making a living just being themselves and posting their personal thoughts and opinions to the world. We thought we'd take a look at the trend, so we recently talked with Adorian Deck (https://www.youtube.com/user/AdorianDeck), an up and coming 22-year old Youtuber, who told us his story about how (More info...)
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Rubicon Project Extends To Out-of-Home AdvertisingLos Angeles-based advertising optimization and automation technology developer Rubicon Project is taking its technology into the out-of-home advertising market, the company said late Thursday. According to Rubicon Project, its automation technology is being used in automation of ads in the UK, as part of a deal with outdoor media company BITPOSTER. Rubcion Project said BITPOSTER has access to over 300,000 digital and out-of-home billboards, and will use Rubicon Project's technology to enable aut (More info...)
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Aquesys Acquired By Allergan In $300M DealAliso Viejo-based Aquesys, which was developing medical devices for treating glaucoma, has been acquired by Allergan for $300M in cash upfront plus additional payments based on milestones. Aquesys develops ocular implants which reduce intraocular pressure (IOP) associated with glaucoma. Aquesys is venture backed by Accuitive Medical Ventures, The Carlyle Group, Longitude Capital, Rho Ventures, and SV Life Sciences, and was headed by Ron Bache. The company had raised around $97.5M in funding in t (More info...)
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CytomX Therapeutics, Founded At UCSB, Queues Up For IPOCytomX Therapeutics, a biotech startup which was founded by UC Santa Barbara professor Patrick Daugherty, and which has a significant number of Southern California angel investors, filed for an IPO last week, saying that it is looking to raise $100M on the NASDAQ Global Market. The company hopes to trade under the symbol CTMX. The IPO is being underwritten by BofA Merrill Lynch, Jefferies, Cowen and Company, and Oppenheimer & Co. The company's institutional investors include Third Rock Ventures, (More info...)
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Cynvenio Names Chief Medical OfficerWestlake Village-based cancer diagnostics developer Cynvenio Biosystems said Thursday afternoon that it has named Paul Y. Song, M.D., as its new Chief Medical Officer. Song is on the faculty at Cedars Sinai Medical Center, and also is Chief medical Officer at TA-Gen Co. Ltd, and was previously Chief Medical Officer at Berg Health. Cynvenio said that Song will oversee translational and clinical research programs at Cynvenio. Cynvenio has developed medical diagnostics technology which uses standa (More info...)
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