Tuesday, May 10, 2016Hyperloop One Raises $80M, Inks Infrastructure PartnershipsLos Angeles-based Hyperloop One--formerly, Hyperloop Technologies--said late Monday that it has raised $80M in a Series B financing round, and inked a list of infrastructure partners. The company, which also said it is conducting its first, open-air test of its propulsion system tomorrow in North Las Vegas, said the funding came from Sherpa Ventures, EightVC, ZhenFund and Caspian Venture Partners plus 137 Ventures, Khosla Ventures, Fast Digital, Western Technology Investment (WTI), SNCF, the Fre (More info...)
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Amazon Targets Hollywood Creators With Video DirectIn a move which will impact the content creation industry in Los Angeles and beyond, Amazon.com said Tuesday that it has launched a new program to let content creators post their own content to Amazon Prime. Amazon said the new service, Amazon Video Direct, will allow content creators to rent or sell their videos, and even make that content available free with ads, or available via subscription. The new service looks to be a direct challenge to YouTube, which so far has dominated the online vide (More info...)
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Global Eagle Entertainment Acquires Emerging Markets Communications For $550MLos Angeles-based inflight entertainment, wireless, and communications systems developer Global Eagle Entertainment is acquiring satellite communications services provider Emerging Markets Communications, the two said Monday, in a deal worth $550M in cash and stock. Global Eagle said it would pay $30M in cash plus 6.6 million shares of its stock for Emerging Markets Communications, which provides satellite-based communications services to the maritime industry, as well as for remote offices for (More info...)
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Rapidus Expands On Demand Delivery Service To Los AngelesRapidus, an on-demand, ground courier service, said today that it has expanded into Los Angeles, offering up local businesses with one hour and same day delivery services. The startup--based in San Francisco--says that the expansion is its first out of the San Francisco Bay Area. Like many other, on-demand delivery services, Rapidus is tapping into a network of contract drivers to offer up the service; the company says it differs from those other services, in that those drivers follow selected r (More info...)
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Tradesy Takes $30M More For Online Luxury Clothing MarketplaceSanta Monica-based online luxury clothing marketplace Tradesy has raised $30M more in a Series C funding, the company disclosed late Monday. The funding was led by Wildcat Capital Management and also included Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and Rincon Venture Partners. Tradesy is led by Tracy DiNunzio, and helps owners of luxury clothing resell that clothing to others. The company's marketplace revolves around very high end brands, like Gucci, Louis Vuitton, and Coach. The company has now raise (More info...)
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How Napkin Finance Is Demystifying Personal Finance, One Napkin At A Time
For many people—particularly young people—the intricacies of personal finance and Wall Street can be very intimidating. How do you help young people figure out and understand finance, in a simple, easy to understand format? Los Angeles-based Napkin Finance (www.napkinfinance.com) has figured it out, with a series of very visual, highly engaging “napkins”, which explain, in a graphical way, many of the principles and basics of personal finance. The company has done so well, it recently (More info...)
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Western Digital Gets Final Approval On $19B SanDisk AcquisitionIrvine-based Western Digital says it has received the final approval needed for its acquisition of memory maker SanDisk, from China's Ministry of Commerce, and now expects the transaction to close on Thursday. The deal is worth approximately $19 billion, and was originally announced in October of 2015. Western Digital, which is led by Steve Milligan, is a major developer of disk drive and storage products; with the move of the industry towards solid state storage, the combination with SanDisk gi (More info...)
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Cornerstone OnDemand Launches New Analytics ProductSanta Monica-based Cornerstone OnDemand has launched a brand new product today, which uses machine learning and data analytics to help companies manage their workforce. According to the company, it has launched Cornerstone View, a data visualization application which provides leaders deeper information on their people, and Cornerstone Planning, a workforce planning application to help organizations with their hiring plans. Pricing on the new software was not announced. Both pieces of software ta (More info...)
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Universal Music Group Names Digital VPSanta Monica-based Universal Music Group has named Jonathan Dworkin as its new Senior Vice President of Digital Strategy and Business Development, according to the company. The company said Dworkin will help the company develop digital strategy, work on partnerships, and advance its business development. Dworkin was most recently Chief Marketing Offier at MixRadio, and also served at Warner Music Group, Nokia, Lagardere, and Brick House Music. At Warner Music, the company said he ran partner neg (More info...)
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D-Link Debuts New 10GbE SwitchesFountain Valley-based networking equipment maker D-Link--which is 30 years old this year--has rolled out a new 10 Gigabit Ethernet managed switch, the company said today. The company said it has launched a new, 10-port 10-Gigabit Ethernet Smart Managed Switch (DXS-1100-10TS), which is aimed at the small and medium sized business market, government agencies, and educational facilities. The new hardware lists for $1249.99.
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Yardi Gets Wins In London, DubaiSanta Barbara-based real estate management software developer Yardi reported two international wins Monday evening, saying it has signed LSH Investment Management in London, and Al Ghandi Real Estate in Dubai. Financial details of the two separate wins were not announced. LSH Investment Management provides property acquisition and investment management service for institutional investors, family offices and private clients. Al Ghandi Real Estate owns more than 2 million square feet of commercial (More info...)
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Ixia Spins New Partner ProgramCalabasas-based Ixia, the developer of network testing hardware and software, said it has launched a new partner program. The company said its new Xceed Technology Partner Program will provide implementation guidance for solutions, particularly in the areas of virtualization, big data analytics, and IoT. The partnership program also provides strategy and design workshops, solution integration and support, training, and other sales related benefits, according to the company.
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