Friday, January 16, 2015Gem, Expresscoin Partner On Secure Bitcoin WalletVenice-based Gem and Santa Monica-based Expresscoin said this week that they are in a partnership, which will offer up GEM's secure wallet API to Gem's customers. Financial details of the deal were not disclosed. Gem develops APIs which allow developers to create and integrate Bitcoin applications in an easy way; Expresscoin allows users to purchase Bitcoin, Litecoin, Dogecoin, Blackcoin, and Darkcoin. The new relationship means that users of Expresscoin--rather than having to bring their own Bi (More info...)
posted on Friday, January 16, 2015(Full story)
The Mobile Majority Acquires Brazilian CompanySanta Monica-based The Mobile Majority--which recently zoomed past $50M in revenues--has acquired a Brazilian web development company called Elastic, according to the company. The Mobile Majority said the deal is valued between $3 million to $7 million. Elastic specializes in high frequency, low latency algorithms used for interpreting data from mobile advertising campaigns, according to the companies. The Mobile Majority said it is adding talent in product development, UI, backend, high speed (More info...)
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SpaceX Releases Vine Of Failed Landing AttemptHawthorne-based SpaceX has just released a video via Vine of its failed landing attempt of the first launch stage of its rocket booster in Florida. SpaceX had been attempting to land the booster on a floating platform, as part of its efforts to develop a reusable rocket booster. The video shows the booster failing to land on the platform, and scattering fire across the platform as it glances off into the water. The other half of the mission--the SpaceX Dragon capsule--successfully docked with th (More info...)
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Southern California Venture Investments Top $1.3 Billion In Q4Venture capitalists invested more than $1.3 billion in Southern California startup, according to the latest MoneyTree Report issued by PricewaterhouseCoopers and the National Venture Capital Association last night, based on data from Thomson Reuters. The report tallied $1.09 billion in investments in Los Angeles, near $125M in Orange County, and $106.6M in investments in San Diego. The numbers in Southern California were significantly helped by two, mega-funding deals in Los Angeles, including $ (More info...)
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Carbonics: Seeking The Future In Carbon NanomaterialsIn the quest for ever smaller sizes an faster speeds, the semiconductor industry has increasingly been looking for new materials which work better, are cheaper, and faster than traditional silicon. One of the companies working on that effort is Marina Del Rey-based Carbonics (www.carbonicsinc.com), which recently raised $5.5M in a venture funding round, to transform carbon nanomaterials research from UCLA and USC and bring it to market. We caught up with CEO Kos Galatsis to learn more about the (More info...)
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ValueMyStuff Sets Up Shop In LAValueMyStuff, a startup which offers up online valuation of fine art, antiques, and other collectibles, has recently set up an office in Los Angeles to tap into the U.S. market. The London-based startup helps consumers get an expert appraisal on such items as paintings, by simply taking pictures of their item and uploading them to the site. The site's founders are from Sotheby's, Christie's, Phillips, and Bonhams. Think that old painting you got from your late uncle might be worth some money? Th (More info...)
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Sentry Control Systems Acquired By SKIDATAVan Nuys-based Sentry Control Systems, which distributes the ubiquitous electronic parking control systems you find in parking garages, has been acquired by parking technology developer SKIDATA. Financial details of the buy were not disclosed. The two companies said they have been working together since 2000. SKIDATA is based in Austria. The two ssaid that Sentry represented 40 percent of SKIDATA's business in the U.S.
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ESET Names Sales VPSan Diego-based ESET, the developer of Internet security software, said Thursday that it has named Gerald C. Choung as its new Vice President of Sales. Choung is the former Senior Director of Channel Strategy and Sales for Qualcomm (now Omnitracs). He also has served at Oracle and Microsoft. ESET has more than 200 people in San Diego, and more than 1,000 worldwide developing its Internet security software products.
posted on Friday, January 16, 2015(Full story)