Tuesday, July 26, 2016


Vizio Acquired By Chinese TV Maker LeEco For $2 Billion
Irvine-based Vizio, which makes HDTV and other electronics products, is in a deal to be acquired by Chinese television maker LeEco, the two said late Monday, in a deal worth $2 billion. According to the two companies, LeEco will pay $2 billion in cash for Vizio, which is privately held. Vizio is the last TV manufacturer to be based in the United States. LeEco and Vizio said that Vizio's hardware and software business will become wholly owned subsidiaries of LeEco, and Vizio's data business, Insp (More info...)
posted on Tuesday, July 26, 2016(Full story)

Green Commuter Hopes To Use A Tesla Model X Fleet To Get You To Work In Style
Tired of commuting to work in that generic looking white van pool? A new, Los Angeles startup, Green Commuter, says it plans to roll out a fleet of all-electric, seven-seat Tesla Model X as part of a new vanpool and car sharing service. According to the startup--based in the Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator (LACI)--it plans to launch on August 1st with an Indiegogo campaign, to find commuters interested in its yet-to-be-launched service. The company says by using the Tesla Model X, it avoids the (More info...)
posted on Tuesday, July 26, 2016(Full story)

Wpromote Buys Standing Dog For Digital Marketing Efforts
El Segundo-based digital marketing company Wpromote said on Tuesday that it has acquired online marketing agency Standing Dog, which provides search engine marketing, SEO, social media and paid media services. Financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. Wpromote says it has hired on senior management and more than 70 employees from Standing Dog, which will help boost the company's annual run rate to $35M this year. Standing Dog was founded in 2005, and was based in Texas. Wpromote is (More info...)
posted on Tuesday, July 26, 2016(Full story)

Demand Media Names Marketing VP
Los Angeles-based Demand Media said today that it has named Matt Gehring as the company's new Vice President of Marketing. Gehring was most recently VP of Marketing for Touch of Modern, and previously served at Provide Commerce, Marchex, Classmates.com and Musicmatch. Demand Media said Gehring will be responsible for marketing at its properties Saatchi Art and Society6.
posted on Tuesday, July 26, 2016(Full story)

SteelHouse Countersues Criteo Over Click Fraud
Los Angeles-based advertising software developer SteelHouse said this morning that it has sued French retargeting firm Criteo, claiming false advertising, intentional interference with contract, intentional interference with prospective economic advantage and unfair competition. The lawsuit was file in the Central District of California. SteelHouse said the countersuit comes as it alleges over 50 percent of Criteo's revenue is coming from fraudulent sources. Criteo had sued Steelhouse in June, (More info...)
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Dropoff Brings Same Day, On-Demand Delivery Services To LA
Dropoff, an on-demand, same day delivery startup, said today that it has launched its services in Los Angeles, as the first expansion of the startup into California. The startup, based in Austin, Texas, says it is targeting its on-demand delivery service at businesses, particularly those in the film and television, health care, professional services, food and grocery, and retail area. Dropoff's platform includes web and mobile ordering capability, real-time tracking and confirmation of deliverie (More info...)
posted on Tuesday, July 26, 2016(Full story)

Scopely Raises $55M For Mobile Games Empire
Los Angeles-based mobile game developer Scopely has raised a big, $55M funding round, the company said today, to help grow the company's catalog of mobile games. According to Scopely, the new financing round was led by Greycroft Growth Fund and Elephant Partners, and also included Evolution Media Capital, the joint fund of CAA and TPG Growth, along with Highland Capital, Sands Capital Ventures and Take-Two Interactive. As part of the funding, Greycroft's Mark Terbeek gains a seat on the board. S (More info...)
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Kite & Lightning Gets $2.5M For VR Studio
Los Angeles-based Kite & Lightning, a new virtual reality studio, has raised $2.5M in a seed funding round, the company announced this morning. The round was led by Raine Ventures, and also included Courtside Ventures, Comcast Ventures Catalyst Fund, Social Capital, Outpost Capital, Boost VC, & Jason Rosenthal, CEO of Lytro. According to Kit & Lightning, the funding goes to expand its title Bebylon Battle Royale, a virtual reality title which focuses on "competitive spectator gaming". Kite & Li (More info...)
posted on Tuesday, July 26, 2016(Full story)

Sandler Partners Buys X4 Solutions
Hermosa Beach-based Sandler Partners, a distributor and provider of communications, telecom, and cloud IT services, has acquired X4 Solutions, a MIdwestern "master agency" in the telecom and cloud services area. Financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. Sandler Partners said the combined company will genearate $65M in revenues this year. Sandler Partners is led by founder Alan Sandler.
posted on Tuesday, July 26, 2016(Full story)

Dryve Takes On Car Washes, Gas Fillups, So You Don't Have To
Are you one of those folks who just doesn't want to deal with filling up the car, getting your oil changed, or washing your car--but still need to have your own car? A new startup, Dryve, based in Los Angeles, said it has launched a proof of concept here to handle refueling, oil changes, and washes for users. The startup says it is looking to serve consumers who are too busy or uninterested in managing their car maintenance, with a "concierge" to handle all of those car needs. Like many other, (More info...)
posted on Tuesday, July 26, 2016(Full story)

Atom Tickets In Big Expansion
Los Angeles-based mobile movie ticketing provider Atom Tickets, which is led by Ameesh Paleja, said on Monday that it has expanded its mobile movie ticketing platform to Dallas, Houston, Miami, Tampa, Orlando, Kansas City, Charlotte and Raleigh. The new markets are in addition to Los Angeles/Southern California, Atlanta and Nashville. According to Atom Tickets, the new markets are the first in a national expansion for the company, which expects to be available nationwide by the end of summer. At (More info...)
posted on Tuesday, July 26, 2016(Full story)

BandLab Updates Social Music App
Los Angeles- and Singapore-based BandLab says it has launched a new, updated app, which lets its users create, collaborate, and share music. BandLab's software lets users collaborate together on music, combining musical tools like guitar effects with the ability to record video, add special effects and filters, add emojis and drawings, and more to music. The software runs on iOS, Android, and also has a web version. The company said its updated software includes new music tools like built in gui (More info...)
posted on Tuesday, July 26, 2016(Full story)