Thursday, March 24, 2016Esri Powers New Forest Data Maps From USDARedlands-based geographical information systems (GIS) software developer Esri is continuing to help government agencies make more of their data available to the public, in a new deal with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Forest Service. The Forest Service rolled out a new set of maps--the Forest Atlas of the United States, which lets the public browse a wide range of data, ranging from lumber areas to wildfire burn patterns across the U.S. The Forest Service said the move makes its Fore (More info...)
posted on Thursday, March 24, 2016(Full story)
Forbes Midas List Skips SoCal, Again
In what has been a familiar refrain, the annual Midas List ranking by Forbes Magazine of the most influential venture capitalists has completely skipped Southern California's venture capital community, although it did credit the position of at least four of the VCs on the list to their investments in Southern California startups, and highlighted Ashton Kutcher and Guy O'Seary for their investment efforts. Forbes credited investment in Snapchat for placing former executive Mitch Lasky of Benchm (More info...)
posted on Thursday, March 24, 2016(Full story)
Blossom Launches New Smart Watering ControllerIrvine-based Internet-of-Things device developer Blossom, the smart sprinkler developer led by Manrique Brenes, has rolled out a brand new, smart watering controller this week called the Blossom 8. The startup said its new, smart watering controller supports eight watering zones, is connected by WiFi, and also can handle tough outdoor weather conditions, among other enhancements to the product. The company said it is offering up the Blossom 8 for pre-order at $99, with a MSRP of $129. Blossmo sa (More info...)
posted on Thursday, March 24, 2016(Full story)
Visionary VR Gets $6MLos Angeles-based Visionary VR has raised $6M in a Series A round, the company said on Wednseday, led by DFJ. The round also included The Venture Reality Fund, BDMI, GC VR Gaming Tracker Fund (Greycroft Partners), Vayner/RSE, and End Cue, along with angels Walter Kortschak, Douglas Purdy, Lee Rierson, Carl Rosendale, Ethan Beard, Jeff Marx, and Anamitra Banerj. Visionary VR develops virtual reality creation software, and was founded by Jonnie Ross, Adam Levin, Cosmo Scharf, Gil Baron and Luke Pa (More info...)
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HG Data Takes $12M More For Market AnalyticsSanta Barbara-based HG Data has raised $12M in a Series B funding, the company announced today, for it market analytics and intelligence information. The startup said the funding was led by Updata Partners, and also included Rincon Venture Partners and Epic Ventures. HG Data is led by Craig Harris. The company's service revolves around tracking the installed base of a wide range of products, ranging from cloud services, enterprise applications, and customer relationship management tools, to hard (More info...)
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How Crexi's Startup Dream Team Is Tackling Commercial Real EstateIn the world of residential real estate, there are now web and mobile services for everything from finding a new home, comparing neighborhoods and properties, to finding a mortgage, and even handling paperwork and closing. But, over in the commercial real estate world—it's still fax machines, phone calls, and the post office. How do you apply technology to help improve that industry? Los Angeles-based Crexi (www.crexi.com) has taken two, very experienced teams—one from Auction.com, the other (More info...)
posted on Thursday, March 24, 2016(Full story)
Tinder Now Matches You With Political CandidatesLos Angeles-based dating and relationships app developer Tinder has rolled out a new feature which lets you "swipe right" on your opinion on a number of issues -- and helps hook you up with a political candidate. Tinder's new "Swipe The Vote" feature asks users to swipe right or left, depending on if they agree or disagree with issues, and helps to match them with presidential candidates. The new feature is part of an effort with Rock the Vote, which is looking to spur more millennial participat (More info...)
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EDF Renewable Energy: We're Number One In Wind Energy DevelopmentSan Diego-based renewable energy developer EDF Renewable Energy says it is the leader in U.S., wind energy projects, with 12 percent of the market share in installed capacity in 2015. EDF Renewable Energy said it developer 1,055.4 megawatts of installed wind energy capacity in 2015, which gives it the largest share of the market. EDF Renewable Energy is a subsidiary of EDF Energies Nouvelles, and is led by CEo Tristan Grimbert; the company has around 800 employees. The company has a number of ve (More info...)
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Uber Driver Killed In InglewoodA driver for Uber was shot and killed this weekend, according to the Inglewoood Police Department, while on a trip with a passenger. Andre Jamal Bayyan was killed around 3:45 a.m. on Sunday morning, only a few blocks away from Hollywood Park Casino, and near Morningside High School. The neighborhood has seen gang shootings in the past, including one which killed an assistant football coach at the high school in 2014. The Inglewood Police Department is seeking leads in the Uber case.
posted on Thursday, March 24, 2016(Full story)
MaxLinear Deploys In ChinaCarlsbad-based radio frequency and mixed signal integrated circuit provider MaxLinear has scored a big deployment in China, the company said late Wednesday evening. MaxLinear said that its technology is being deployed in the Chinese cities of Yueqing and Yuxi, as part of a broadband customer premise equipment (CPE) install. Financial impact of the win was not announced. MaxLinear said its new customers in China serve millions of customers in Zhejiang and Yunnan provinces. The Yuxi cable system s (More info...)
posted on Thursday, March 24, 2016(Full story)