Tuesday, May 16, 2017


Lensabl Lands Funding From Amplify, Others
Los Angeles-based Lensabl, a startup which lets online users order up replacement lenses for their prescription glasses, has raised a new round of funding, the company announced today. The size of the funding was not announced. The new funding was led by Amplify.LA and Luma Launch, and also included angel investor JJ List. Lensabl allows users to purchase replacement lenses for frames they already own, including both traditional lenses for eyeglasses as well as lenses for sunglasses. The compan (More info...)
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Pluto TV Adds New Video On Demand Service
Los Angeles-based free Internet television provider Pluto TV said this morning that it has launched a new, free Video-on-Demand (VoD) service. The company said it will feature content from Lionsgate, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), and Warner Bros. on the new offering. The company said it already provides over a hundred television channels, with thousands of movies and TV shows. The company said its new VoD offering will include such titles as Mad Max, Thelma & Louise, The Kite Runner, Dances With Wo (More info...)
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Hackers Threaten To Release New Disney Pirates Movie, Demand Ransom
Disney's upcoming film, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, has reportedly been stolen by hackers, who are now demanding ransom from Disney to prevent the release of the title online. According to both Deadline and THR, the hackers are demanding an "enormous amount" of money, paid in Bitcoin, to keep the title from being posted online. The breach was apparently announced by Walt Disney CEO Bob Iger at an employee town hall in New York on Monday. Disney apparently is refusing to pay (More info...)
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Newegg Branches Into Third Party Order Fulfillment
Los Angeles-based e-commerce provider Newegg announced this morning that it is branching out into third-party logistics and order fulfillment services, with a new service called Newegg Logistics. According to Newegg, it will offer e-commerce order fulfillment, shipment, and returns for other e-commerce sellers and other businesses, to help other businesses break into online sales. Newegg said it will warehouse sellers' products, process incoming orders, ready them for shipment, handle transporta (More info...)
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Cuteness Launches Podcast For Pet Lovers
Santa Monica-based Cuteness.com has recruited two comedians, Allegra Ringo and Renee Colvert, to run a new weekly podcast for pet lovers on the site, the site said on Monday. Cuteness--one of the sites owned by Leaf Group--said the show will cover topics such as pet tech, health and training tips, trending pet and animal news, and interviews with celebrity pet owners. The podcast is the first for Cuteness, which already publishes online articles on pets, ranging from health and training tips to (More info...)
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Forge Therapeutics Names Board
San Diego-based antibiotics developer Forge Therapeutics announced oday that it has named its board of directors, adding Mario Polywka (COO of Evotec AG), John Schmid, (former CFO of Trius and Auspex Pharmaceuticals), Stephen Worland (President and CEO of eFFECTOR Therapeutics), Brian T. Dorsey (MagnaSci Ventures), and Zachary Zimmerman (CEO of Forge), with Jonathan Kabakoff (Alexandria Venture Investments) and Jeffrey Moore (MP Healthcare Venture Management) serving as observers. Forge Therape (More info...)
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Leaf Group Names Two VPs
Santa Monica-based Leaf Group Ltd., the firm that runs Livestrong.com, eHow, Society6, Saatchi Art, and other sites, said on Monday that it has named Jay Ku as Senior Vice President, Advertising and Brand Solutions, and Ruben Baerga as General Manager of Society6. Ku will head up Leaf Group's internal sales and advertising team, and Baerga will run Society6, Leaf Group's print-on-demand marketplace. Ku was most recently at Participant Media, and also served at GOOD, and also was a professional c (More info...)
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NantKwest Names Pediatric VP
Culver City-based cancer immunotherapy developer NantKwest announced this morning that it has named Dr. Leonard Sender as Senior Vice President of Medical Affairs for Pediatric, Adolescent and Young Adult Oncology. NantKwest said the move specifically will help it address pediatric cancer, which it says is the leading cause of death for children in the United States. Dr. Sender is currently the Medical Director of the Hyundai Cancer Institute at CHOC Children's Hospital as well as the Executive (More info...)
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