Thursday, March 10, 2016Yahoo Taps Former Broadcom CFO For Board, As It Mulls SaleYahoo! said Thursday that it has named two new, independent directors--including Eric K. Brandt, former CFO of Broadcom--as it looks to explore strategic alternatives for the company. Yahoo said that it added both Brandt and Catherine J. Friedman, a former Managing Director at Morgan Stanley, as part of its efforts to refine its strategy and explore strategic alternatives for the company. Brandt was the Chief Financial Officer of Broadcom up until its acquisition by Avago in February, and also (More info...)
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Hyperloop Transportation Technologies Inks Deal In Slovak RepublicPlaya Vista-based Hyperloop Transportation Technologies, one of the similarly named companies working on further developing Elon Musk's grand idea for a next generation transportation system, said Thursday that it has inked an agreement with the Government of the Slovak Republic, to explore building a Hyperloop system between Bratislava and Vienna, Austria and Budapest, Hungary. Financial details of the deal were not disclosed. Hyperloop Transportation Technologies (HTT) is led by Dirk Ahlborn, (More info...)
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Soothe Picks Up $35M More For On Demand Massage ServiceLos Angeles-based on-demand, massage service Soothe has raised another $35M in funding to expand its service into more cities, the company said on Thursday. The funding came from the Riverside Company. Soothe is led by Merlin Kauffman, and lets users book both through a mobile app, through its website, or even a phone call. The company offers up flat rate pricing on massages, starting at $99.00 for a 60 minute massage. The company says it helps connect consumers with licensed, background checke (More info...)
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Avametric Raises $10.5M To Combine Hollywood VFX With E-CommerceIn a crossover between the worlds of Hollywood special effects and e-commerce, a new startup, Avametric, said it is looking to fuse "Silicon Valley, Hollywood, and Fashion" by using the software behind visual effects rendering to render clothing and accessories on computer models of consumers. The San Francisco startup said it raised $10.5M from Khosla Ventures, Y-Combinator, and others on Thursday. The bulk of the company's workforce is in San Francisco, although the company's Chief Customer Of (More info...)
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Moviepilot Expands BoardLos Angeles-based Moviepilot announced today that it has named a Christof Wittig to its board of directors. Wittig--who is part of Moviepilot backer Deutsche Telekom Strategic Investors--has previously served as founder and CEO of such companies as LiquidM, Servo Software, db4objects, and Apsis Software, and also sites on the board or is an investor in Enish, Metago, KeepSafe, Hornet Networks, Vespa Networks, VirtaHealth, Boxfish, and App Annie. Moviepilot, which is led by Tobi Bauckhage, operat (More info...)
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Whole Foods, Instacart Plan Expansion Into Orange CountyNatural and organic goods supermarket Whole Foods Market and sam day delivery service Instacart announce today that they will be expanding into Orange County, one of the first markets in a national expansion which will allow consumers to order groceries from Whole Foods Market for same day delivery. Whole Foods and Instacart have been working together to allow consumers to order groceries for same delivery in 17 markets; Orange County and Baltimore, Maryland, are the first two markets in a natio (More info...)
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Sonos Chops Staff In Santa BarbaraSanta Barbara-based whole home music system maker Sonos told its users in a blog post Wednesday that it has let go of a number of employees, as a result of changes in the industry. Sonos did not say how many employees it is letting go, only that the "last few weeks have been tough" on the company. Sonos said it is now looking to increase its focus on paid streaming services and voice control.
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Mucker Capital Raises $45M Fund, Mucker IIILos Angeles-based Mucker Capital said this week that it has closed on a new, $45M fund, Mucker III. The fund, run by Erik Rannala and William Hsu, did not detail the limited partners in the new fund. Mucker Capital started fundraising for that new fund in May of last year. William Hsu, in a blog post likened the new fund to the firm's "Series A", as the first two funds from Mucker were much smaller. Mucker Capital got its start as MuckerLab, a startup accelerator, but has shifted more towards ea (More info...)
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Green Dot At Center Of Tax Refund Fraud Prevention EffortsPasadena-based prepaid debit card provider Green Dot, as well as other fellow prepaid card providers, are apparently carefully scrutinizing tax refunds to their prepaid cards this season, according to the Associated Press. Widespread reports of pre paid card users using Green Dot, and Wal Mart's prepaid cards--which are provided by Green Dot--says thousands have had their tax refunds put on hold, and have been required to reverify their identities with Green Dot. The moves come as Green Dot has (More info...)
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Immersv Launches Virtual Reality Ad PlatformLos Angeles-based Immersv is launching a brand new, ad platform aimed at virtual reality content, the company is announcing today. The startup--backed by Foundation Capital, Technicolor Ventures, Rothenberg Ventures, TenOneTen Ventures, CAA Ventures, All Mobile Ventures, 137Ventures, Gigi Levy, and others--says its platform is aimed at helping consumers discovery great virtual reality apps and entertainment, and also to help VR developers to monetize and distribute their content. Immersv is led (More info...)
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500 Startups Extends Presence To Los AngelesVenture capital investor 500 Startups appears to be extending its presence in the Los Angeles area, with the appointment of Jess Erickson as LA Program Director at the firm. 500 Startups has not said what Erickson will focus on with the new title, however, Erickson's profile shows that she has moved from serving as Director of Diversity at 500 Startups in San Francisco, to residing in Los Angeles at the beginning of this month. The move was first noted by Fortune.
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Rubicon Project Partners With CadreonLos Angeles-based programmatic advertising network operator Rubicon Project has partnered with Cadreon, the ad tech unit of IPG Mediabrands, in a programmatic buying effort. According tot the two companies, Cadreon will use Rubicon Project's Guaranteed Orders platform to manage direct inventory across desktop, mobile, and video advertising for its clients. Financial details of the partnership were not announced. I IPG says it manages over $37 billion in marketing for its clients.
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