Wednesday, August 24, 2016


Accruent Founder Friedman Steps Away From CEO Role, Shifts To Chairman
Real estate management software developer Accruent, which was founded 20 years ago in Los Angeles by Mark Friedman, said today a that Friedman--its CEO for nearly 20 years--is shifting to become Chairman of the board. John Borgerding becomes CEO of the company. Friedman is stepping away from the CEO role four months after the company was acquired by Genstar Capital. Accruent still has offices in Los Angeles, but recently has been headquartered in Austin, Texas. Accruent was founded in 1995.
posted on Wednesday, August 24, 2016(Full story)

SpaceX Leasing New Space To Refurbish Rockets
Hawthorne-based SpaceX is gearing up to refurbish its growing collection of rocket boosters, and plans to lease a building in Port Canaveral, Florida, for those efforts, according to a report. A local Florida publication says that SpaceX has had to lease more room, as it has been successfully landing Falcon 9 rocket boosters. The company as six of those boosters that have been successfully returned to earth so far in one piece. SpaceX is planning to refurbish and relaunch those boosters, which-- (More info...)
posted on Wednesday, August 24, 2016(Full story)

Interlink Electronics Names New CFO
Westlake Village-based Interlink Electronics said on Wednesday that it has named a new CFO, appointing David S. Burnett to the position. Burnett was previously Vice President and Treasurer at EnPro Industries, and also has served at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP and Grant Thornton LLP. Interlink Electronics is a developer of force sensing and other hardware.
posted on Wednesday, August 24, 2016(Full story)

Digital Domain In VR Production Deal With World Surf League
Los Angeles-based studio Digital Domain says it is teaming up with the World Surf League (WSL), to bring immersive, 360 degree, virtual reality content to consumers, the company announced Wednesday morning. According to Digital Domain, it will offer up VR ocnetnt from Billabong Pro Tahiti, with a "virtual beachfront view" of the surf event. Those virtual reality videos will be available on the World Surf League Facebook page. Financial details of the deal were not disclosed. The event is the sec (More info...)
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REC Solar Taps Energy Industry Vet As CEO
San Luis Obispo-based REC Solar, the commercial solar and energy developer, said it has named Matt Walz as its CEO. Walz is a prior executive at Duke Energy, where he was for 12 years. Walz had already been on REC Solar's board of directors, as a result of Duke's investment in REC Solar. Duke Energy acquired a majority interest in REC Solar in 2015, and says it committed to invest up to $225M in projects financed through REC Solar. The company exclusively focuses on installing solar power system (More info...)
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Disney Movies Anywhere Links With Verizon Fios
Burbank-based Walt Disney Studios says it has linked its Disney Movies Anywhere service with Fios by Verizon, allowing Fios users to purchase and access Disney, Pixar, Marvel and Star Wars movies via the service. Financial details of the new distribution relationship were not announced. The two said Fios by Verizon customers can now connect to Disney's digital movie collections, and also can purchase those titles directly via Fios. Disney Movies Anywhere is Disney's digital movie service, which (More info...)
posted on Wednesday, August 24, 2016(Full story)

Armorway Becomes Avata Intelligence
Los Angeles-based artificial intelligence software developer Armorway says it has renamed itself Avata Intelligence, in a move to broaden its market beyond the physical security domain. According to Avata Intelligence, the company is now applying its software to the areas of public safety & infrastructure, defense, healthcare, global awareness and social impact. Avata is led by Zareh Baghdasarian, and is a spinout of the University of Southern California.
posted on Wednesday, August 24, 2016(Full story)

Media.net Acquired For $900M
Media.net, an ad-tech company which has offices in Los Angeles, said over the weekend that it has been acquired for $900M by a Chinese consortium led by Starbuster TMT Investments and Beijing Miteno Communication Technology Co. Ltd.. Media.net is headquartered in Dubai, with U.S. headquarters in New York. The company said it has more than 800 employees split across New York, Los Angeles, Dubai, Zurich, Mumbai and Bangalore. The company said the acquisition is the first step to becoming part of B (More info...)
posted on Wednesday, August 24, 2016(Full story)