Friday, July 28, 2017


Whisper Chops Staff
Venice, California-based Whisper, which operates an app and website that lets users share anonymous thoughts--and combines that with other content--has reportedly laid off 20 percent of its staff, or 14 out of its 71 employees, according to a report on Friday. Whisper, led by Michael Hayward, has raised $61M in total funding.
posted on Friday, July 28, 2017(Full story)

i.am+ Buys Wink
Hollywood-based i.am+, the electronic device company founded by musical artist will.i.am, has acquired smart home products maker Wink, the companies said late Thursday. Financial details of the acquisition were not announced. Wink said that it the Wink app and Wink Hub will "continue to operate just as they have" and the acquisition will not change the Wink user experience.
posted on Friday, July 28, 2017(Full story)

Interview with Jeff Kukowski, SecureAuth
In a world where there seems likes there is a major, security breach every day, where usernames and passwords are just not enough because they keep getting stolen, and where hackers have even started to hijack people's mobile phones to break into accounts, what do you do? Irvine-based SecureAuth (www.secureauth.com) has its own approach and opinions on what ought to be done. We spoke with SecureAuth's CEO, Jeff Kukowski, to learn more about what the problems are with cybersecurity, and how the c (More info...)
posted on Friday, July 28, 2017(Full story)

SpaceX Plans Falcon Heavy Launch In November
Hawthorne-based SpaceX is planning the maiden launch of its Falcon Heavy rockets in November, according to Elon Musk. Details on that launch have not yet been announced. The Falcon Heavy will be the largest, rocket to be created since the Saturn V moon rocket, which was last launched in 1973, and according to SpaceX will deliver more than twice the payload of the largest rocket now available, the Delta IV Heavy. SpaceX's Falcon Heavy is made up of three, Falcon 9 rocket cores. Image: SpaceX rend (More info...)
posted on Friday, July 28, 2017(Full story)

SpaceX Raises $350M More, Is Now Worth Around $21 Billion
Hawthorne-based SpaceX has just raised $350M more in new funding, according to regulatory filings, which reportedly values the company at around $21 billion. Details of the funding have not been announced by SpaceX. SpaceX has previously raised funding from Fidelity, Google, Founders Fund, and DFJ.
posted on Friday, July 28, 2017(Full story)

Sienna Biopharmaceuticals Sees IPO Bump In First Day Of Trading
Westlake Village-based Sienna Biopharmaceuticals saw a healthy bump on its firs tday of trading as a public company, closing at $19.25 per share, or up 28.33 percent. Sienna, which debuted on Thursday as SNNA on the NASDAQ Global Market, had priced at $15.00 per share on Wednesday evening. Sienna Biopharmaceuticals is venture backed by ARCH Venture Partners, Partner Fund, and Fidelity. The company is developing aesthetic medicine products.
posted on Friday, July 28, 2017(Full story)

The Gores Group Buys AMI Entertainment
Los Angeles-based private equity investor The Gores Group said on Thursday afternoon that it has acquired AMI Entertainment, a maker of digital jukeboxes and video systems, which are installed in bars, restaurants, and other locations. AMI Entertainment was founded in 1909, as the National Automatic Music Co. Financial details of the acquisition were not announced. Gores Group said it acquired AMI through its Small Capitalization Partners investment fund.
posted on Friday, July 28, 2017(Full story)

CrowdStrike Rolls Out Cybersecurity Search Engine
Irvine-based CrowdStrike, which develops endpoint protection software, said earlier this week that it has launched a new search engine for cybersecurity data, called CrowdStrike Falcon Search Engine. The company specifically said it has launched a new, malware search component within the tool, CrowdStrike Falcon MalQuery, which it says gives its customers access to more than 560TB of malware for use in malware research. Pricing on the new offering was not announced. CrowdStrike is led by securit (More info...)
posted on Friday, July 28, 2017(Full story)