L.A. Business Journal
MAY 10, 2021
Akash Nigam, founder and chief executive of Venice-based Genies Inc., said he wasn’t entirely sure what a nonfungible token was until last summer when he met with Dapper Labs Inc. Chief Executive Roham Gharegozlou.
socalTECH
MAY 12, 2021
Pasadena-based GuRu Wireless, a developer of wireless power charging technology, is powering a new effort to bring wireless charging to Motorola, the two companies said this morning. According to the two, Motorola and GuRu will work together to bring over-the-air wireless power to Motorola's smartphones. GuRu claims its technology allows for delivery of watts of power over meters.
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Startup Professionals Musings
MAY 10, 2021
Most aspiring entrepreneurs believe their initial idea and inspiration requires the most important creative thinking. Experienced entrepreneurs will tell you that the initial idea is the easy part, and it’s the later implementation, and the competitive business marketing that are the real creative challenges. There is a tough balance here to achieve, since a large portion of starting and running a business requires analytical, logical thinking.
Berkonomics
MAY 13, 2021
Several years ago, I wrote a book entitled, Extending the Runway , using parallels to piloting a plane to equate to the process of creating and building a small company, making maximum use of resources to get to and beyond breakeven. It is worth revisiting the most. Extending the Runway book available at Amazon. important point of that book, which was written to prompt discussion between entrepreneurs, professional managers, and their boards of directors about issues that could unite them or s
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L.A. Business Journal
MAY 10, 2021
A planned high-speed rail project between Las Vegas and Southern California that stalled out last fall amid the pandemic now appears to be back on track.
TechCrunch LA
MAY 13, 2021
TiMi Studios, one of the world’s most lucrative game makers and is part of Tencent’s gargantuan digital entertainment empire, said Thursday that it has struck a strategic partnership with Xbox. The succinct announcement did not mention whether the tie-up is for content development or Xbox’s console distribution in China but said more details will be unveiled for the “deep partnership” by the end of this year.
Southern California Tech Central brings together the best content for technical professionals in Southern California from the widest variety of industry thought leaders.
socalTECH
MAY 14, 2021
San Diego-based Cue Health, which develops health information software, has raise $235M in a financing round, the company said on Thursday. The funding came from Perceptive Advisors, MSD Capital, and Koch Strategic Platforms, a subsidiary of Koch Industries, plus existing investors Johnson & Johnson Innovation -- JJDC, Inc. (JJDC), Decheng Capital, CAVU Ventures, ACME Capital, and others.
L.A. Business Journal
MAY 10, 2021
A direct rail connection to LAX has moved one step closer to reality, and Sylmar-based construction contractor Tutor Perini Corp. appears poised to deliver it.
L.A. Business Journal
MAY 10, 2021
Downtown-based infrastructure giant AECOM recently won portions of two major multiyear federal contracts.
L.A. Business Journal
MAY 10, 2021
A direct rail connection to LAX has moved one step closer to reality, and Sylmar-based construction contractor Tutor Perini Corp. appears poised to deliver it.
L.A. Business Journal
MAY 10, 2021
Brian Anderson hated shopping on his phone.
Startup Professionals Musings
MAY 12, 2021
If you are a passionate technologist , it’s easy to forget that marketing is required to sell even the most compelling solution, to cut through the information overload everyone sees today on the internet. If customers don’t know you exist, you can’t solve their problem, they won’t buy. Getting customer attention often takes more innovation today than solving the tough technical problems.
Startup Professionals Musings
MAY 14, 2021
As an advisor to new business owners, I’m accustomed to seeing primarily the simple traditional product pricing strategies , usually driven by competitor prices, or cost plus a reasonable margin. I often wonder whether you as the entrepreneur have worked as hard on your pricing strategy as you have on your innovative solution. I hate to see money left on the table through poor pricing.
Startup Professionals Musings
MAY 9, 2021
One of the toughest challenges of an entrepreneur in building a startup is the fact that there are so many things that you don’t know how to do, or don’t like to do. Things like raising money, building a business plan, or hiring and firing people. These aren’t fun, especially for a visionary. That’s when the curse of procrastination steps in. The result is that certain things just never seem to get done.
socalTECH
MAY 13, 2021
Santa Monica-based Happy Returns, which operates a business which makes it easier for consumers to returns items they have purchased at e-commerce startups--and also handles all the logistics in processing those returns--has been acquired by PayPal. Financial terms of the buy were not announced. Happy Returns was venture backed by U.S. Venture Partners and Upfront Ventures, and also had previously raised strategic funding from PayPal itself.
socalTECH
MAY 14, 2021
Hawthorne-based rocket and spacecraft developer SpaceX has put together plans to launch a Starship into orbit from Texas, with landing off the coast of Hawaii, according to documents filed with the FCC. Timing of the launch is unclear. The documents--entitled "Starship Orbital-First Flight FCC Exhibit"--said the launch would originate in Starbase, TX, the company's operations in Boca Chica.
socalTECH
MAY 14, 2021
Poway-based semiconductor equipment manufacturer and services provider Cohu announced this week that it has divested its printed circuit board (PCB) test business. According to Cohu, it sold its Printed Circuit Board Test Group (PTG) business to Mycronic AB, a Swedish company involved in development, manufacture and marketing of production equipment, including atg Luther & Maelzer GmbH and other affiliated entities and assets.
socalTECH
MAY 14, 2021
Irvine-based electric car maker Fisker has teased out a video promoting a yet-to-be-annnounced, new vehicle "Project Pear", which Henrik Fisker says Foxconn will build for the company. Details on the new vehicle so far are light, but Fisker said that Foxconn is jointly investing in the vehicle, and will share the proceeds from sales. Manufacturing is reported to be targeted at Q4 of 2023.
socalTECH
MAY 14, 2021
Hawthorne-based SpaceX and Sunnyvale-based Google Cloud said on Thursday that the two are in a new partnership, where Starlink will locate its ground stations within Google's data center properties. According to Google Cloud and SpaceX, the deal will provide low-latency and reliable delivery of data from Starlink's satellites to locations on the network edge connected into Google's cloud.
socalTECH
MAY 13, 2021
Los Angeles-based Cartwheel, a startup that develops on-demand delivery management software, says it has raised $1M in a seed funding round, which came from TenOneTen Ventures, Act One Ventures, as well as famed hot dog restaurant chain Portillo's Hot Dogs, along with other angels. Cartwheel said the funding will go towards product development, partnership integrations, and team expansion.
socalTECH
MAY 13, 2021
Los Angeles-based Curio, which says it is partnering with collectible brands to product NFTs ("non fungible tokens"), has raised $7M in a seed funding round. Curio says it has partnered with trading card brand Topps to produce NFTs from iconoclastic, cult classic Mars Attacks!, and previously has produced NFTs from American Gods television series produced by Fremantle, the Concrete Park graphic novel series published by Dark Horse Comics, and Universal Pictures' Scott Pilgrim vs. the World.
socalTECH
MAY 13, 2021
Santa Monica-based Bird is looking to go public via a $2.3 billion special purpose acquisition (SPAC) transaction, as the company starts to see a recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. According to an investor presentation from Bird, the company is finally seeing an uptick after major impacts on its business last year when much of the world shut down due to the pandemic.
socalTECH
MAY 13, 2021
San Diego-based Mindera, a startup developing a system that predicts patient response to psoriasis treatments, has raised $12M in a Series A-2 financing, according to the company. The funding came from Mountain Gro, up Partners, Rockmont Investments, and Scientific Health Development. Mindera said that the funding will go towards commercialization of its products, plus continued development.
socalTECH
MAY 12, 2021
Irvine-based satellite developer Tyvak Nano-Satellite Systems said today that it has named retired U.S. Navy Rear Admiral Christian "Boris" Becker as its Chief Executive Officer. According to Tyvak, Admiral Becker spent more than 33 years in the Navy and Department of Defense, having most recently serving as Chief Executive of the Naval Information Warfare Systems Command (NAVWAR).
socalTECH
MAY 12, 2021
Duarte, California-based iPower, an online retailer of hydroponics equipment, has had a small IPO on the Nasdaq Capital Market. The company said it is selling 3,360,000 shares of its common stock at $5.00 per share, after pricing its IPO last night. The company starts trading today on the Nasdaq Capital Market as IPW. iPower priced below its initial estimated IPO range, which was $7.00 to $9.00 per share.
socalTECH
MAY 12, 2021
Aliso Viejo-based Qsic, which develops in-store music streaming systems that the company calls "smart in-store infrastructure", says it has raised $3.1M in a Series A funding round. The funding was led by Carthona Capital. The company--which was founded in Australia in 2012--says it will use the funding for US growth, plus national rollout of its platform.
socalTECH
MAY 12, 2021
Santa Barbara-based Apeel, which is venture-backed by Viking Global Investors, Upfront Ventures, Tao Capital Partners, Rock Creek Group, as well as Oprah Winfrey and Katy Perry, has acquired ImpactVision, a developer of "hyperspectral imaging" technology used to measure data on ripeness and quality of fresh produce. Financial terms of the acquisition were not announced.
socalTECH
MAY 11, 2021
Los Angeles-based UberMedia--which only just recently renamed itself UM, was recently acquired by Near. Financial details of the acquisition were not announced. UberMedia had been led by CEO Gladys Kong, who becomes CEO of near North America. UberMedia developed business intelligence and data analytics software. The company originally was in the business of developing social apps, and was part of Idealab, having started way back in 2010.
socalTECH
MAY 11, 2021
La Jolla-based Singular Genomics Systems, a developer of gene sequencing technology, has filed for an IPO, saying in a filing that it is looking to raise up to $100M in an IPO on the Nasdaq. The company has filed to list under the symbol OMIC. The IPO is being underwritten by J.P. Morgan, Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC, BofA Securities, Cowen, and UBS Investment Bank.
socalTECH
MAY 11, 2021
Los Angeles-based HONK Technologies, a startup which provides roadside assistance through a network of third party towing companies, is expanding its support for an existing customer, Branch Insurance. According to HONK, Branch Insurance will offer up its raodside assistance service to its auto insurance members, as it expands to new markets in Indiana, Colorado, and Oklahoma.
socalTECH
MAY 11, 2021
Santa Monica-based subscription vehicle startup NXCR has named a new Chief Technology Officer this morning, saying it has added Martin Prescher to oversee its engineering and data teams. Prescher previously was at PwC, and also had served as Chief Technology Officer at AutoGravity. According to NXCR, Prescher's role at PWC was leading its banking and automotive innovation and technology center, developing bespoke software solutions and go-to-market strategies for consumer finance, retail banking
socalTECH
MAY 11, 2021
Los Angeles-based Appia Bio, a biotech startup focused on developing engineered allogeneic cell therapies from hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) for cancer patients, has launched from stealth mode, saying it has raised $52M in a Series A funding round. The funding was led by 8VC, and also included Two Sigma Ventures, Sherpa Healthcare Partners and Freeflow Ventures.
socalTECH
MAY 10, 2021
The former CEO of a Southern California communications services company has plead guilty to charges that he fraudulently obtained $5 million in bank loans from one of Southern California's big startup and technology banks. According to the U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California, Richard Loren Lewis, 67, of La Quinta, pleaded guilty to a two-count information charging him with bank fraud and making a false statement to a financial institution.
socalTECH
MAY 10, 2021
Carpinteria-based construction management software developer Procore has set its estimated initial IPO pricing, saying in a filing today that it now expects an initial offering price of betweenn $60.00 and $65.00 per share. The company has applied to list on the NYSE under the symbol PCOR. Procore initially filed for an IPO back in November of 2020.
socalTECH
MAY 10, 2021
Los Angeles-based electric car company Fisker Inc. has run afoul of warrant accounting issues related to the special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) transaction it was involved in, and will restate its 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020. According to Fisker Inc., the restatement comes as a result of the April 12th Staff Statement by the U.S.
socalTECH
MAY 10, 2021
Santa Barbara-based property management software developer Yardi says it has launched a new product in the United Kingdom. According to Yardi, it has launched Yardi Breeze Premier for the UK property market, providing property management and accounting to small and medium-sized real estate landlords and property agencies. The company says its new software supports lettings and property management, property and corporate accounting, service charge management, turn over rent calculations, email co
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