Tuesday, November 24, 2015


SpaceX Gets Challenge From Blue Origin
Hawthorne, California-based space rocket developer SpaceX has its first, real, commercial competition, as of Monday, after competing rocket developer Blue Origin launched its first successful test into space. SpaceX---which was given the order last week to start working on a manned mission to deliver astronauts to the ISS--has so far dominated the market for commercial rocket launches, despite the claims and efforts of a number of potential competitors. Blue Origin is backed by Amazon.com founde (More info...)
posted on Tuesday, November 24, 2015(Full story)

PatientPop Picks Up $10M
Santa Monica-based PatientPop, a startup developing software for healthcare providers, has raised $10M in a Series A funding, according to the company. The funding came from Toba Capital. The startup, founded by Luke Kervin and Travis Schneider, develops software that manages patient acquisition, retention, analytics, and more. The company said the new funding brings its total raised to $13.3M. The company says it has more than 65 employees and offices in Santa Monica, Las Vegas, and New York; t (More info...)
posted on Tuesday, November 24, 2015(Full story)

DoorStat: Using Vision Recognition To Improve Business Analytics
Many businesses--particularly in sports, entertainment, and retail--don't have a very good idea of the demographics of their clientele. How can you get a better handle of who your customers are, by using technology? Los Angeles-based DoorStat (www.doorstat.com)--which recently moved here from Chicago—tells us about how it is using vision recognition software to help businesses, such as entertainment venues, better understand who their customers are. We talked with Cole Harper, CEO of the co (More info...)
posted on Tuesday, November 24, 2015(Full story)

PMC-Sierra Goes To Microsemi After Bidding War
Aliso Viejo-based Microsemi and PMC-Sierra said this morning that the two have entered into a definitive agreement, where Microsemi will acquire PMC-Sierra, for approximately $2.5 billion. The deal comes after a bidding wart between Microsemi and Skyworks Solutions to acquire PMC-Sierra, which had agreed in October to be acquired by Skyworks for $2.4 billion. Microsemi says it is paying $9.22 in cash and 0.0771 share of Microsemi common stock for each share of PMC common stock.
posted on Tuesday, November 24, 2015(Full story)

Google Launches Mortgage Search Engine In California
Home buyers in Southern California have yet another place to search for mortgages, as of yesterday: Google. Google said it has rolled out a new mortgage comparison tool, Google Compare for U.S. mortgages, allowing buyers in the Golden State to shop around for a mortgage, finding the best rates, and allowing users to apply using their smartphone or desktop computer for those mortgages. Google has tied into existing, mortgage search providers Zillow and Lendingtree to power the new service.
posted on Tuesday, November 24, 2015(Full story)

OpenX Ties Into Ad Quality Program
Los Angeles-based programmatic advertising technology provider OpenX said Monday that it has tied into an ad quality effort being run by PubNation. According to the two companies, OpenX is the first certified technology partner for PubNation's Ad Quality Platform, which helps identify and remove bad advertisements using crowdsourcing.
posted on Tuesday, November 24, 2015(Full story)