Friday, May 17, 2024Blind Squirrel Games Names Board Member
Los Angeles-based video game development studio Blind Squirrel Games said Thursday that it has named a new member to its its board of directors. According to the company, it has appointed Steve Escalante to its board. The company said that Escalante is the CEO and founder of publisher Digital Bandidos, and also had founded such firms as Versus Evil and Red Cerberus, as well as served at Bethesda and Gamecock.Continue →
Wednesday, May 15, 2024Surf Air Mobility Swaps CEOs, Seeks To Cut Costs
Los Angeles-based regional air company Surf Air Mobility said it has swapped its CEO, saying that current CEO Stan Little will become a "Special Advisor" and "Founder" to the company. Deanna White, the company's CFO, will become Chief Operating Officer and interim CEO of the company. It's unclear what drove the company's CEO switchup. White was previously CEO of Bombadier Flexjet, and also served as COO of Kitty Hawk (sold to Boeing, now known as Wisk Aero)....Continue →
Wednesday, May 15, 2024Alteryx Rolls Out AI Assistant
Irvine-based enterprise analytics software developer Alteryx announced today that it has launched a new, AI assistant, built on Google Cloud's Gemini AI model. According to the company, its new AI tool will make it easier to "onboard" new users and build analytical workflows. Alteryx develops analytics software used for managing revenues and costs, as well as for risk mitigation.Continue →
Wednesday, May 15, 2024Classy Enhances Fundraising Tools For Nonprofits
San Diego-based Classy said today that it has launched a new set of tools that help nonprofits with fundraising and marketing. The company--which is owned by GoFundMe--says the tools include features like "Intelligent Ask Amounts" which uses machine learning to suggest an "ask amount" for donations that are personalized to a person's giving history; better integration with other tools; embedded donation tools, and more.Continue →
Tuesday, May 14, 2024SpinLaunch Names New CEO
Long Beach-based space startup SpinLaunch has shuffled its CEO, saying recently that it has named David Wrenn as its new CEO. Wrenn was serving as the company's Chief Operating Officer. The appointment of a new CEO comes after the company's former CEO and founder, Jonathan Yaney, has "completed his transition from the company". Details on the departure were not given. The company said Wrenn has been at the company since early 2015, when he joined as a mechanical engineer....Continue →
Tuesday, May 14, 2024EVgo Adopts NACS Connectors
Los Angeles-based EVgo said today that it will begin deployment of the standard North American Charging Standard (NACS) connectors for electric vehicles later this year. The company said the addition of those connectors will allow it to serve both CCS and NACS vehicles. NACS is the standard used by Tesla Motors, whereas CCS is used by most other motor vehicle manufacturers....Continue →
Monday, May 13, 2024Fisker Adds New Dealers, Drops Destination Fees
Los Angeles-based EV maker Fisker Inc. is trying to drum up more sales, saying today that it is waiving its $2,438 Destination and Handling charge for its 2023 Fisker Ocean Extremes and Ultras. The company also said it has added two new dealer partners in California, with one in Orange County (Newport Fisker) and one in San Jose (Fisker of San Jose). Fisker says it now has fifteen dealer partner locations and distributorships in the US and territories....Continue →
Monday, May 13, 2024Gnomi Courts Journalists for Articles
Los Angeles-based Gnomi said it is looking to pay journalists for articles, based on a "per article" negotiated article, as part of its machine learning/AI technology which translates and aggregates news. The company did not say how much it will pay journalists for their content, or if that content will be used to train its own machine learning software....Continue →
Monday, May 13, 2024Newegg Gets Nasdaq Warning
City of Industry-based Newegg said last week it has received a warning from The Nasdaq Capital Market, saying that the company is "currently not in compliance with the minimum bid price requirement" for the Nasdaq, as its closing bid price has been below $1.00 per share for a period of 30 consecutive business days. Newegg currently trades on the Nasdaq as NEGG. The company said it has until November 4, 2024, to regain compliance....Continue →
Monday, May 13, 2024Sensible Weather Links With Outdoorsy
Los Angeles-based Sensible Weather, which provides weather-based insurance coverage to travelers, says it has linked up with digital insurance platform Roamly. According to the company, it will offer "Weather Guarantees" for travelers booking a trip on the RV rental platform Outdoorsy. The company said will issue customers who purchase their insurance "proactive reimbursements when their experiences are affected by undesirable weather"....Continue →
Friday, May 10, 2024Fisker Being Probed For Braking Issues
Los Angeles-based EV maker Fisker Automotive is facing more headwinds, as it apparently is facing investigation over inadvertant activation of its automatic emergency braking system. According to the NHTSA report, there have been multiple reports of "sudden vehicle deceleration" in the Fisker Ocean. So far, 8 reports have been submitted on model year 2023 Fisker Ocean vehicles....Continue →
Friday, May 10, 2024Komo Tech Partners With Fanatics
Los Angeles-based Komo Tech said this week it has partnered with Fanatics. Financial details of the partnership were not announced. According to Komo Tech, it will help Fanatics Events with "new levels of fan engagement". The company said it provides a "next-gen customer engagement platform" which includes things like immersive games, polls, competitions, and more. Joel Steel is CEO and Co-founder of Komo Tech.Continue →
Friday, May 10, 2024Report: Used Pelotons Flooding LA Market
A new report says that used Pelotons are flooding the Los Angeles market as a result of the company's financial issues. According to the report, users seem to be tiring of the recurring subscriptions. Peloton is reportedly seeking a private equity buyer.Continue →
Thursday, May 9, 2024Aardvark Therapeutics Raises $85M
San Diego-based Aardvark Therapeutics announced today that it has raised $85M in a Series C funding round. The funding was led by Decheng Capital and also included Cormorant Asset Management, Surveyor Capital, SymBiosis, Tetragon Financial Group, Walleye Capital, Laurion Capital Management, LG Technology Ventures, Cantor Fitzgerald & Co, Silver Arc Private Capital, The Prader-Willi Syndrome Association – USA, Vickers Venture Partners and the Foundation for Prader-Willi Research....Continue →
Thursday, May 9, 2024Toyota Sets Up Fuel Cell Headquarters In Gardena
Toyota has set up its fuel cell technology headquarters in Gardena, as part of the company's efforts to research, develop, commercialize, and sell fuel cell and hydrogen-related products, according to the company. Toyota Motor North America (TMNA) said last week that it is renaming its R&D office in Gardena as its "North American Hydrogen Headquarters (H2HQ)" and will focus on commercialization planning and sales of hydrogen-related products and technologies....Continue →
Wednesday, May 8, 2024Elementary Gets Funding For AI Vision
Los Angeles-based Elementary, a developer of AI-powered machine vision software, says it has received a round of strategic investment from Rockwell Automation. Size of that funding was not disclosed. The company says it is developing AI-powered vision inspection software for manufacturing automation. Elementary's CEO and founder is Arye Barnehama. The company said its other investors include Toyota Ventures.Continue →
Wednesday, May 8, 2024NASA Selects Three Groups Working On Climate Studies
NASA says it has selected four groups working on missions to help study the climate and climate change, including three companies based in Southern California. According to NASA, the proposals for concept studies of missions to help the agency better understand Earth science in such areas as greenhouse gases, the ozone layer, ocean surface currents, and changes in ice and glaciers around the world....Continue →
Friday, May 3, 2024Illinois Dangles $827M In Incentives To Rivian
The State of Illinois is hoping to attract more work in the state from Irvine-based EV maker Rivian, by offering up the auto maker $827M worth of incentives. Rivian currently builds its R1S and R1T vehicles there, in a plant it acquired from Mitsubishi.Continue →
Friday, May 3, 2024Rocket Lab Preparing Two NASA Launches
Long Beach-based Rocket Lab said this week that it is planning two, back-to-back missions for NASA, to deploy satellites for NASA. According to the company, it has two back-to-back Electronic launches to deploy the NASA PREFIRE (Polar Radiant Energy in the Far-InfraRed Experiment) mission. The company said the first will launch no earlier than May 22, 2024, and the second within three weeks of the first mission....Continue →
Thursday, May 2, 2024Enlaza Therapeutics Finds $100M
La Jolla-based Enlaza Therapeutics, which is working on protein drugs, says it has raised $100M in a Series A financing round. The funding was led by Life Sciences Group of J.P. Morgan Private Capital, and also included existing investors Frazier Life Sciences, Avalon Ventures, Lightspeed Venture Partners, and Samsara BioCapital along with new investorsAmgen Ventures, Regeneron Ventures, Bregua Corporation, Pappas Capital, and Alexandria Venture Investments....Continue →
