Friday, October 20, 2017The Tech Info Group Acquired By Capitas PartnersLos Angeles-based The Tech Info Group, a managed IT services, back-up, cloud, and security provider, has been acquired by Capitas Partners, the two said late Friday. Financial details of the acquisition were not announced. According to the companies, Capitas Partners will also invest $200,000 of growth capital in TTIG as part of the transaction. The Tech Info Group says it provides business networks, providing supplementation services for existing IT Departments, and offering strategic IT consul (More info...)
posted on Friday, October 20, 2017(Full story)
Report: Los Angeles, San Diego Among Top Startup MarketsLos Angeles and San Diego are among the metro areas with the highest startup activity, based on a new report from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. The foundation ranked Los Angeles as number 3, and San Diego as number 4 in terms of the highest startup activity in the United States, based on the rate of new entrepreneurs, startup density, and other factors. Miami was ranked number on in the nation. The Kauffman Foundation says its 2017 Startup Activity Index is an index measure of a broad ra (More info...)
posted on Friday, October 20, 2017(Full story)
Qualcomm Gets Exit At August HomeSan Diego-based Qualcomm Ventures, the venture investment arm of Qualcomm, has had an exit in its portfolio--smart lock maker August Home. August was acquired by ASSA ABLOY on Thursday. Financial details of the acquisition were not announced. August was venture backed by Bessemer Venture Partners, Comcast Ventures, Maveron, Qualcomm Ventures, AGL, Liberty Mutual and SPDG. The company had raised $75M in total. August is based in San Francisco.
posted on Friday, October 20, 2017(Full story)
Google Powers 3D Virtual Reality Exploration Of The Surface Of MarsHave you ever dreamed of visiting Mars? Google has teamed up with NASA and JPL to power a new, 3D, virtual reality experience of the real surface of Mars, on the new Access Mars website. According to Google, it has taken the photos taken by the Mars Curiosity rover, which have been used by NASA to create a 3D model of Mars, and lets users experience the surface of the planet using WebVR. Google said the 3D experience lets users see Mars in 3D, explore the Curiosity landing site and other mission (More info...)
posted on Friday, October 20, 2017(Full story)
SpaceX Wins New $97M Launch Contract With NASAHawthorne-based SpaceX has been selected by NASA for a new launch contract, to launch NASA's Sentinel-6A mission into space, NASA said on Thursday. According to NASA, it is targeting launch of its Sentinel-6A from Vandenberg Air Force Base in November 2020. NASA said total cost for it to launch the new mission will be approximately $97M, including launch services and other mission related costs. The Sentinel-6A mission (also known as Jason Continuity of Service, Jason-CS), is a joint effort betw (More info...)
posted on Friday, October 20, 2017(Full story)
Ambry Genetics Acquired By Konica MinoltaAliso Viejo-based genetic testing company Ambry Genetics has successfully been acquired by Konica Minolta, in a deal worth $1 billion, Konica Minolta and the Innovation Network of Japan (INCJ) said on Thursday afternoon. The companies had announced the acquisition deal on July 6th. Ambry, which was founded in 1999, operates a genetic testing lab which provides offer hereditary cancer panels and clinical exome sequencing.
posted on Friday, October 20, 2017(Full story)
Trace Gets Funding From Intel CapitalLos Angeles-based Trace, a developer of mobile apps which automatically track your sports activity using sensors, video, and artificial intelligence, has scored a round of investment from Intel Capital. Size of the funding round was not announced. Intel Capital announced its investment in Trace on Thursday, as part of a larger announcement of investments of $60M in 15 technology startups. Intel says Trace's sports artificial intelligence software works in the areas of soccer, mountain sports, an (More info...)
posted on Friday, October 20, 2017(Full story)