Wednesday, October 5, 2016Green Dot Backs New Prepaid Account RulesPasadena-based Green Dot said in a statement today that it will "fully support" the new rules rolled out by the CFSB this week, governing rules for prepaid debit cards--rules which were partially developed in response to some payment issues faced by Green Dot earlier in the year. According to Green Dot CEO Steve Streight, it said it fully supports the CFSB's mission, to "ensure fairness, integrity and consumer protections for all participants in the financial system." and also said it recognized (More info...)
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Boeing: We'll Beat Elon Musk To MarsHawthorne-based SpaceX appears to have kicked off a race to Mars, as the CEO of Boeing, Dennis Muilenburg, said on Tuesday that the company believes it just be able to be the first to deliver space travelers to Mars. In an interview at a Chicago conference, Muilenberg said that he believes that the first person to step foot on Mars will arrive riding a Boeing, not SpaceX, rocket. Mars poster courtesy of NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratories.
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GumGum Powers In-Image Ads On Rolling StoneSanta Monica-based ad technology developer GumGum--which injects contextually relevant ads into images on publishers' websites, said today that it has signed a renewed partnership with Wenner Media, the publisher of Rolling Stone, Us Weekly and Men's Journal. The company said it will deliver its in-image and in-screen ad units to those publications. Financial details of the renewal were not announced. The two have been working together since August of 2015. GumGum is backed by such investors as (More info...)
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MediaAlpha Sees $100M In Revenues, For Second YearLos Angeles-based programmatic advertising company MediaAlpha, led by Steve Yi, says it has seen more than $100M in revenues, for the company's second year. The provider of programmatic advertising technology said it nearly doubled the size of its team in the past 12 months. The company develops a platform aimed at the vertical search media area, covering pay-per-click, pay-per-call, and pay-per-lead advertising. The company says it is seeing around $200M in annual transaction volume through its (More info...)
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Verdezyne In Chemical Distribution DealCarlsbad-based Verdezyne, the venture backed company which is producing synthetic chemicals using sustainable, bio-based chemical processes, has signed on specialty chemicals firm Aceto Corporation as a distributor. According to Verdezyne, Aceto will distribute its BIOLON DDDA (biobased dodecanedioic acid) in the U.S. That chemical is used in such products as automotive parts, coatings, cosmetics, and fragrances, and traditionally has been derived from petroleum, rather than renewable processes (More info...)
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QSC Buys Ultra-Stereo LabsCosta Mesa-based QSC, a developer of sound equipment for the cinema industry, said Tuesday afternoon that it has acquired Ultra-Stereo Labs, which manufactures audio signal processing and audio-visual test and measurement products for the cinema industry. Ultra-Stereo Labs was based in San Luis Obispo. Financial terms of the acquisition were not announced. Ultra-Stereo Labs was founded by Jack Cashin in 1982; QSC was founded in 1968, and offers up power amplifiers, signal processing, loudspeaker (More info...)
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Charity Effort By Evite, Pledgeling Raises $1M For NonprofitsTwo, Los Angeles area technology companies--Evite and Pledgeling--say that a joint effort, Evite Donations, has raised $1M in donations for thousands of nonprofits over its first year. The tool, available for any Evite event, allows hosts of Evite events to collect donations to their favorite nonprofit, at no cost, with no fee for donations from Evite. The back end of the service is powered by Pledgeling. Pledgeling is led by James Citron; Evite is led by Victor Cho. The two said Pledgeling has (More info...)
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RealD Names New Chief Operating OfficerBeverly Hills-based RealD, the developer of 3D movie projection systems, said on Tuesday that it has named Travis Reid as the company's new Chief Operating Officer. Reid was most recently serving as President of Distribution for Broad Green Pictures. He also has served at Screenvision, Digital Cinema Implementation Partners (DCIP), and Loews Cineplex Entertainment, all in the CEO role.
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Triton Digital Links XAPPmedia Into SlackerLos Angeles-based audio advertising technology provider Triton Digital says it has begun representing XAPPmedia, and will offer up that firm's premium interactive audio ads on Slacker Radio. Triton Digital said it has been representing Slacker's audio inventory and programming since 2010. Triton said the addition of XAPPmedia's interactive ads will better engage mobile audiences and generate revenue for Slacker Radio.
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