Wednesday, June 14, 2017


Jaunt VR Debuts In China
Jaunt, the venture-backed producer and publisher of cinematic, virtual reality (VR) content, said this week that it has officially launched in China, with a Chinese version of its Jaunt VR app. The app, launched by Jaunt China, a joint venture with Shanghai Media Group (SMG) and China Media Capital (CMC), runs on the XIOAMI VR headset. Jaunt has its content studios in Los Angeles, although its headquarters are in Silicon Valley. The company is venture backed by The Walt Disney Company, Evolution (More info...)
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ViaSat Wins Defense Deal
Carlsbad-based broadband communications equipment and services provider ViaSat said on Wednesday that its technology has been selected by Lockheed Martin, to support a U.S. Navy program. ViaSat said that Lockheed Martin has selected its Datalink Communications System for the U.S. Navy's Long Range Anti-Ship Missile Integration and Test Program. The company will also provide engineering support for software enhancements and flight test support. Size of the investment was not announced.
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Rightside Acquired By Donuts Inc. For $213M
Donuts Inc., the global, top level domain (gTLD) registrar and domain owner has Rightside Group Ltd., the domain name spinoff of Santa Monica-based Demand Media, the company announced on Wednesday. The deal is worth approximately $213M, or $10.60 per share in cash. According to the companies, the deal was unanimously approved by Rightside Group's board of directors, following a comprehensive review of strategic and financial alternatives. Rightside was advised by Barclays Capital and Wilson Sons (More info...)
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SURE Scores $8M For Personal Insurance App
Los Angeles- and New York-based SURE, which offers up personal insurance, on-demand, via a mobile app, has raised $8M in a funding round. The Series A funding was led by IA Capital, and also included Menlo Ventures, FF Venture Capital, Nationwide Ventures, Assurant and AmTrust. SURE's mobile app lets users purchase flight, baggage, renters, pet, wedding and smartphone insurance, all without leaving the app. SURE said the funding will go towards product development, user acquisition, marketing, a (More info...)
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Episona Gets $4M For Male Infertility Testing
Pasadena-based Episona has raised $4M in seed funding, to go towards expansion of its male fertility testing product, Seed, the company said last week. According to Episona, the funding came from the Pasadena Angeles, as well as other high-net worth individuals from Pasadena and San Francisco. Episona develops an epigenetic test which examines DNA for risk factors related to male factor fertility and poor embryo quality. Episona has been offering up its test since October of 2016. The company is (More info...)
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SmartLabs Acquired By Richmond Capital Partners, Raises $7.3M
Irvine-based SmartLabs, the parent company of smart home controller brand Insteon and home automation e-commerce site Smarthome, has been acquired by private investment firm Richmond Capital Partners. Financial terms of the acquisition were not announced, however, Richmond Capital Partners said it is investing $7.3M in the company, which will remain headquartered in Irvine. SmartLabs will open up a new, software development office in Seattle as part of the acquisition and investment. Rob Lillene (More info...)
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Irvine Scientific in Major Expansion
Santa Ana-based Irvine Scientific, which develops and manufactures cell culture media, said it has made a major expansion in Southern California. According to the company, it has added a new, 40,000 square foot R&D center in Irvine, the fifth building it has in California, to expand its R&D capability. The company said the additional building brings its total amount of space at its Irvine headquarters to over 140,000 square feet. Irvine Scientific said it built the new facility as a result of in (More info...)
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