Monday, August 11, 2014Surf Air Raises $73M, Orders 15 New PlanesSanta Monica-based Surf Air, the membership-based airline which has been serving Silicon Beach, is in a major expansion, saying that it has ordered 15 new planes--with an option on another 50--and raised $73M in debt and equity. The airline--which is now led by Jeff Potter--said it ordered a total of up to 65 Pilatus aircraft to be delivered over the next five years, or approximately $312M in airplanes. The funding included $65M in debt from White Oak Global Advisors, and $8M from the both new a (More info...)
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Agent Ace Finds $6M For Real Estate ReferralsSanta Monica-based Agent Ace, a new startup looking to help consumers find real estate agents, said Monday that it has raised $6M in a Series A funding round. The funding came from March Capital Partners and Triangle Peak Partners. According to the company--which was founded and is led by Mazen Fawaz--the company uses historical home sale data to match homebuyers and sellers with real estate agents for their specific home. The company said it already covers 75 major U.S. metro areas, having sta (More info...)
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Boingo Wireless Wins World Trade CenterLos Angeles-based Wi-Fi and small cell network provider Boingo Wireless reports that it has been selected fro the new, World Trade Center in New York City. According to Boingo, it has just signed an agreement with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (Port Authority) to design, install, and operate a cellular and Wi-Fi network system in the new World Trade Center. The network is expected to launch in 2015, timed with the opening of the World Trade Center Transportation Hub. Financial i (More info...)
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Demand Media Buys Saatchi Art, Appoints Sean Moriarty As CEOSanta Monica-based Demand Media made a surprise move this morning, saying it has appointed former Ticketmaster CEO Sean Moriarty as its new CEO--and also acquiring Moriarty's startup, Saatchi Art. According to Demand Media, it paid $17M for Saatchi Art, in a mix of cash and stock, in a deal which will add revenues of $0.5M to $1M per quarter to the company. Moriarty is an active advisor in the Los Angeles technology startup community, and serves on the board of Eventbrite, Metacloud, and TuneIn. (More info...)
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Report: YouTube Stars More Popular With Teens Than Hollywood CelebritiesWatch out, Hollywood--a report from Variety says that YouTube stars are more popular than mainstream celebrities with American teenagers aged 13 to 18. Variety said it commissioned a survey in July with 1,500 respondents, which assessed their familiarity with a wide range of celebrities, and asked them to rank them by such things as influence, approachability, authenticity, and other factors. The surprise? The top five on the list were all YouTube stars, including Smosh, The Fine Bros., PewDiePi (More info...)
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Stocktwits Adds Ross Levinsohn, Rob Peck to BoardSan Diego-based Stocktwits, the instant messaging service focused on trading stock news and tips, said last week that it has added Ross Levinsohn and Rob Peck to its board of directors. Levinsohn was most recently Interim CEO of Yahoo; Peck is head of Internet Research at Suntrust. According to Stocktwits CEO Howard Lindzon, Levinsohn and Peck replace venture capitalists Tony Conrad of True Ventures and Seth Levine of Foundry Group on its board of directors.
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ViaCyte Raises $5.4MSan Diego-based ViaCyte, a biopharmaceuticals startup developing stem-cell based treatments for diabetes, said late Friday that it has raised $5.4M in a Series C-1 funding round. The company said the funding came from an un-named, nonprofit corporation and several individuals. The funding comes on top of an existing, Series C-1 financing which occurred in July of 2013, bringing that total round to $16.5M. ViaCyte said it will use the new funds for clinical development efforts. ViaCYte is led by (More info...)
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Qualcomm Donates $325,000 To Chinese Earthquake ReliefSan Diego-based wireless technology developer Qualcomm said this morning that it has donated $325,000 to a charity to help support earthquake relief in Yunnan, China. According to Qualcomm, the donation goes to the Charities Aid Foundation of America (CAF America), which will fund the rural education charity the China Youth Development Foundation (CYDF), to help aid youth and families affected by the earthquake.
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Nami Media Adds Managed Services DivisionLos Angeles-based Nami Media, which provides pay-per-click advertising technology, said it has added a new, managed services division, which will provide clients with managed services for managing their PPC and XML campaigns. According to Nami Media, its new media buying division will help provide expertise to help drive campaigns, and came as a result of clients who wanted to simply purchase media from the company handle those advertising efforts. Pricing on the new managed services was not ann (More info...)
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PCM Sells Santa Monica Property For $20.2MEl Segundo-based technology catalog retailer PCM said late last week that it has sold the land to its retail store in Santa Monica to the Regents of the University of California, for $20.2M. According to PCM, the deal includes two parcels of land, including a 32,5000 square foot portion of land and another adjacent 9,750 square foot property. The two properties are currently being used as the retail storefront for MacMall. PCM said it will shut down that retail location as part of the sale. PCM (More info...)
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