Monday, May 23, 2016


Startup Accelerator, Backed by LA Investors, Targets VR, AR
The Green Screen Institute, a startup accelerator which is looking to create innovation in the virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) areas, says that it is getting close to closing applications for its first, startup accelerator program. The accelerator--backed by a long list of Los Angeles investors and startup veterans, including Scott Lenet of Touchdown VC, Adam Rockmore (VP Marketing, Fandango), David Fields (Tornante Company), Robyn Ward (Head of New Media Ventures at United Talen (More info...)
posted on Monday, May 23, 2016(Full story)

Fandango Launches Ad Push For New VOD Service, FandangoNow
Los Angeles-based movie site Fandango is planning a major push of its brand new video on demand service, FandangoNOW, with ads running on TV, online, mobile, outdoor, and in theaters. The company said its brand new, summer movie campaign will feature more than a dozen commercials, and Saturday Night Live star Kenan Thompson. The ads are the first ever for FandangoNOW. The move comes six months after Fandango acquired video-on-demand service M-GO from Technicolor and DreamWorks Animation.
posted on Monday, May 23, 2016(Full story)

TrueCar Names Dealer Marketing Head
Santa Monica-based TrueCar is continuing to bolster its links to automotive dealers, as it looks to improve its relationship with the auto dealer industry, saying this morning that it has named Paul Edmonds as Senior Vice President of Dealer Marketing and Opeartions. Edmonds joins the company from Internet security firm RiskIQ, and previously spent around 15 years at AutoTrader.com and Trader Publishing Company. TrueCar said that Edmonds will help dealers across its network gain maximum value fr (More info...)
posted on Monday, May 23, 2016(Full story)

RealtyMogul Hits $200M In Projects
Los Angeles-based online real estate marketplace RealtyMogul.com said this morning that it has just hit $200M in total funding for projects on the site, and returned $40M to its investors. The crowdfunding site--which is led by Jilliene Helman--said it now has over 80,000 members across all 50 states, who have invested in more than 350 properties through its marketplace. RealtyMogul.com allows investors to invest as a part of a pool, across commercial real estate opportunities in the $1 to $5M r (More info...)
posted on Monday, May 23, 2016(Full story)

HelloTech Merges With Geekatoo
Los Angeles-based in-home tech support startup HelloTech, which is led by Richard Wolpert, said this morning that it has merged with Geekatoo, a fellow in-home tech support company. The new company will be known as HelloTech, and continue to be led by Wolpert, who is a well known startup advisor and serial entrepreneur in Los Angeles. Financial details of the acquisition were not disclosed. HelloTech said that Geekatoo has been around for five years, and has a network of 7,000 people providing t (More info...)
posted on Monday, May 23, 2016(Full story)

KingTing Tech Rolls Out Smart Home Products
Irvine-based KingTing Tech, an electronics startup which has its R&D team in Irvine, but primarily sells to the Chinese marketplace, said it has launched a new set of smart home devices, including a smart home hub, sprinkler, thermostat, and "smart" outlet, all under the YoSmart brand name. The company said its devices--which use the LoRa wireless standard--include a smart thermostat which automatically adjusts the temperature of your home; a "smart socket" which can remotely turn on electronic (More info...)
posted on Monday, May 23, 2016(Full story)

Rubicon Project Joins New Ad Quality Effort
Los Angeles-based advertising marketplace operator Rubicon Project announced this morning that it has joined in a new, advertising quality effort, call the "Certified Against Fraud" program run by the Trustworthy Accountability Group (TAG). According to Rubicon Project, the move is an industry initiative to fight criminal activity in the digital advertising supply chain, and includes a "rigorous" set of requirements for ad buyers, sellers, and intermediaries. The requirements include that the co (More info...)
posted on Monday, May 23, 2016(Full story)

Secureonix Expands In India
Los Angeles-based security software developer Secureonix said today that it has expanded in Southeast Asia, with a new office in Bangalore, India. Securonix, led by Sachin Nayyaar, said that the office is its second in India; it also has offices in Pune. Securonix said that the expansion comes as a result of the many multinationals who are in Bangalore. Secureonix is a developer of data security software used for threat detection and monitoring.
posted on Monday, May 23, 2016(Full story)

Ionis Pharmaceuticals In Alliance With MD Anderson Cancer Center
Carlsbad-based pharmaceuticals developer Ionis Pharmaceuticals said this morning that it has tied with the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, in a strategic alliance. The strategic alliance focuses on the discovery and development of novel cancer therapeutics. The two said they are combining the antisense technology from Ionis with expertise at MD Anderson, to treat a variety of cancer in patients. Financial details of the alliance were not announced. The two said they will work toge (More info...)
posted on Monday, May 23, 2016(Full story)