L.A. Business Journal
APRIL 13, 2020
Pray is among a fortunate handful of companies whose businesses have actually benefited from the statewide shutdown. The platform's monthly active users grew 50% from February to March.
Berkonomics
APRIL 16, 2020
Most of us are affected by this current crisis. Many businesses threatened with closure forever. Small businesses are the most vulnerable, even though most have furloughed employees. Rent and other fixed costs continue, even when revenues have dried up – a fatal combination. So, here are three urgent questions for you. FINANCIAL: Do you have twelve to eighteen months of cash to cover your “burn rate” now and as you recover?
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TechCrunch LA
APRIL 14, 2020
The story behind Frame, the startup aiming to be the nation’s gateway into the world of therapy and mental wellness, seems like a tailor-made story of American entrepreneurial success. Its co-founders, Kendall Bird and Sage Grazer, ran their first business in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles years ago, selling out their entire inventory of lemonade to a captive audience of eager parents.
Startup Professionals Musings
APRIL 11, 2020
Many passionate entrepreneurs fight to add more features into their new products and services, assuming that more function will make the solution more appealing to more customers. In reality, more features will more likely make the product confusing and less usable to all. Focus is the art of limiting your scope to the key function that really matters for the majority of customers.
Advertiser: Aggregage
Office leases are one of companies’ largest expenses, and if your whole team is working from home with no clear end in sight, you may be wondering what to do about your lease.
L.A. Business Journal
APRIL 13, 2020
Several Los Angeles tech businesses have stepped up to assist the thousands of students and educators across the United States who are adapting to virtual classrooms amid coronavirus-driven school closures.
socalTECH
APRIL 14, 2020
Los Angeles-based Q-CTRL , a company that is developing quantum computing and control technology, has received a strategic investment from In-Q-Tel (IQT), the investment arm of the U.S. intelligence community. Size of the funding was not announced. According to Q-CTRL, the new funding will go towards accelerating quantum technology for national security applications.
Southern California Tech Central brings together the best content for technical professionals in Southern California from the widest variety of industry thought leaders.
Startup Professionals Musings
APRIL 17, 2020
Even in this age of videos and text messages, the quickest way to kill your startup dream with investors, business partners, or even customers, is embarrassingly poor writing. Being very visible in the startup community, I still get an amazing number of badly written emails, rambling executive summaries, and business plans with one paragraph per chapter.
L.A. Business Journal
APRIL 13, 2020
Playa Vista-based restaurant app developer Allset Technologies Inc. said it has raised $8.25 million in a Series B funding round led by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development in London.
socalTECH
APRIL 15, 2020
Pasadena-based Wavemaker Three-Sixty Health , a healthcare innovation fund led by Jay Goss and Dr. John Nackel, says it has launched a new venture capital fund, Wavemaker Three-Sixty Health Fund II. Size of the new fund was not announced. According to Wavemaker 360, the fund focuses on healthcare start-ups seeking seed-stage investment, and importantly avoids biotech.
Xconomy
APRIL 14, 2020
Pharmaceutical giants GlaxoSmithKline and Sanofi are teaming up on COVID-19 research, aiming to combine their respective technologies in a new vaccine that could start clinical trials in coming months. The full details of the agreement, which was announced Tuesday, are still being finalized. But the companies say the vaccine would use antigen (the substance that prompts an immune response) from Sanofi (NYSE: SNY ) and adjuvant (material that enhances the immune response) from GlaxoSmithKline (NY
Startup Professionals Musings
APRIL 15, 2020
In my experience as a business and entrepreneur advisor over many years, I’m convinced that the days of the “ command and control ” business leader are gone. Your employees have higher expectations of you than just defining their job – they want inspiration, motivation, and purpose. They respond with trust and commitment if they sense empathy for their needs and feelings.
L.A. Business Journal
APRIL 17, 2020
Riot Games acquires Canadian video game developer Hypixel Studios.
socalTECH
APRIL 17, 2020
Irvine-based hardware maker Movandi , a developer of millimeter wave, wireless technology used for 5G networks, has raised $27M in a Series C funding, according to the company. The funding was led by WRVI Capital, and also included Cota Capital and DNX Ventures. According to ovandi, it will use the new funding to further develop its 5G millimeter wave technology and expand rollout of 5G networks and devices.
Xconomy
APRIL 14, 2020
Messenger RNA drug developer Arcturus Therapeutics is ready to kick off its first-ever human trials this year, beginning clinical evaluation of its lead drug candidate and testing a vaccine designed to target the novel coronavirus. The San Diego biotech on Monday announced it had received the FDA’s OK to enter into the clinic with ARCT-810, an investigational treatment for ornithine transcarbamylase (OTC) deficiency , a rare inherited disease that causes dangerous levels of ammonia to accumulate
Startup Professionals Musings
APRIL 12, 2020
As an entrepreneur mentor and startup investor, I see with sadness the 50 to 90 percent that fail. If you ask them for a reason, most will insist that they couldn’t get funding, or they ran out of money too early. But I’m not convinced that it’s as simple as that. Many are just not facing the reality that their passion had a critical business flaw. As I was contemplating a classic book “ Dead Companies Walking ,” by Scott Fearon, who runs a hedge fund that profits from businesses headed toward b
AllTopStartups
APRIL 17, 2020
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) increases both the quantity and quality of traffic to a website. It provides businesses with the visibility they need to attract customers. SEO consists of multiple strategies,… The post AlchemyLeads Helps Businesses Increase Both Traffic And Web Conversions appeared first on AllTopStartups.
socalTECH
APRIL 13, 2020
Mojave-based Virgin Galactic , the commercial space tourism company which is backed by Sir Richard Branson, has received a a href="[link] infrastructure exemption , allowing the company to continue to operate during lockdown of most U.S. states. Virgin Galactic has been seeking to launch tourists into space as early as sometime this year. Virgin Galactic manufactures its spacecrafts in Mojave, and has a futuristic spaceport in New Mexico.
Xconomy
APRIL 17, 2020
If Peter Marks had a magic wand to perfect the sophisticated process that takes a new vaccine from idea to reality, the US could have a way to prevent some people from COVID-19 infection in nine months to one year. In the real world, the journey to a vaccine OK’d under emergency guidelines is more likely to take 12 to 18 months, said Marks, who runs the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, on a Friday teleconference hosted by the Commonwealth Fund and the Alliance for Health Polic
Startup Professionals Musings
APRIL 13, 2020
If you have a software development background like mine, I’m sure you often get questions about when to outsource, versus building the solution in-house. The same applies to manufacturing and almost any process these days. Outsourcing is defined as contracting the work to another company, usually located in a developing country, like India, China, or Eastern Europe.
socalTECH
APRIL 17, 2020
In a major win for Hawthorne, California-based SpaceX , NASA announced on Friday morning that it plans to send astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS) on May 27th. According to NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine, the launch--which will be the first from American soil since the Space Shuttle was retired--will happen in a SpaceX Crew Dragon, sitting atop a Falcon 9 rocket.
socalTECH
APRIL 17, 2020
Pony.ai , a Chinese developer of self driving cars, said this morning that it has begun using its driverless cars for deliveries in Irvine, California, for purchases made off the e-commerce site Yamibuy. The move comes after the company's plan to launch a "robo-taxi" service were suspended due to widespread "shelter-in-place" in California. Yamibuy is an online site focused on imported Asian goods, like snacks, grocery, and other items.
socalTECH
APRIL 16, 2020
Los Angeles-based Riot Games , which publishes League of Legends, said on Thursday that it has acquired Hypixel Studios , the developer of Hytale , a block-based game which combines a Minecraft-like environment with roleplaying elements. Financial terms of the acquisition were not announced. Hypixel Studios is based in Derry-Londonderry, North Ireland.
socalTECH
APRIL 16, 2020
El Segundo-based Stamps.com , which allows people to print their own postage at home--but mostly focuses on businesses--says it is waiving its normal monthly fee for U.S. senior citizens, age 65 or over. The online postage service provider normally charges $17.99 a month to use its tools. According to Stamps.com, it hopes the waived fee will allow senior citizens to ship letters and packages without leaving their own homes.
socalTECH
APRIL 16, 2020
Los Angeles-based venture investor Casa Verde Capital --the cannabis investment fund founded by Snoop Dogg--has co-led a $23M, Series B funding round for San Jose-based Greenbits , which develops software for managing cannabis businesses. According to Greenbits, its Series B funding was co-led by Tiger Global and Casa Verde, and also included DNS Capital, along with others.
socalTECH
APRIL 16, 2020
Los Angeles-based The Collaborative , a plant-based yogurt and dessert brand, said late Wednesday that it has raised $7M in a Series A investment, from PowerPlant Ventures. According to the company, it also has named Meiky Tollman as its new CEO. Tollman was most recently GM, COO, and EVP International for 15 years at Sabra Dipping Company. The Collaborative--formerly known as The Coconut Collaborative--said its products are currently available at "select" retailers nationwide, and will be avail
socalTECH
APRIL 15, 2020
Santa Monica-based Headspace , which provides online mindfulness and meditation software, has teamed up with Sesame Street , to create a series of animated shorts designed to help children learn about mindfulness, and help manage their emotions. According to Sesame Street and Headspace, the new series, "Monster Meditations", six animated shorts will be released biweekly, and will begin today on YouTube and youTube Kids.
socalTECH
APRIL 15, 2020
Los Angeles-based artificial intelligence (AI) software developer Eyenuk said this morning that it has fulfilled a contract it had been awarded by Public Health England (PHE). The company's said its system--which is used for diabetic eye screening--has been used to grade 60,000 patient image sets from 6 different National Health Service (NHS) Diabetic Eye Screening Programmes in England.
socalTECH
APRIL 15, 2020
Los Angeles-based venture investor Greycroft , which has made investments in such companies as AwesomenessTV, Maker Studios, Sometrics, Venmo, and others, is one of the lead investors in New York-based Frame AI. Frame AI is a developer of artificial intelligence and machine learning used by companies to understand customer churn and behavior. Frame AI said this morning that it raised $6.3M in its Series A funding round, which was led by G20 Ventures and Greycroft.
socalTECH
APRIL 15, 2020
The National Venture Capital Association (NVCA) says that Q1 2020 venture capital investments had a "strong showing" in Q1, however, it expects that the impending economic downturn due to the COVID-19 pandemic will slow activity through the rest of the year. According to the NVCA, and its PitchBook-NVCA Venture Monitor, there was $34.2 billion invested across 2,298 deals in the first quarter of 2020, partially as a result of "record-high" levels of capital raised by VC funds in 2018 and 2019.
socalTECH
APRIL 15, 2020
San Diego-based medical equipment manufacturer ResMed has received a contract with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), worth $31.98 million, to produce thousands of ventilators to meet possible needs across the United States as the COVID-19 pandemic continues. According to the U.S. HHS, Resmed's contract calls for 2,550 ventilators produced by July 13, with 400 by May 4 and 1,150 by June 1.
socalTECH
APRIL 15, 2020
Carlsbad-based semiconductor developer MaxLinear reports that it has scored a design win with Aviat Networks. According to MaxLinear, its chipsets are being used for Aviat's new WTM 4800 E-Band and Multi-Band Radios. MaxLinear said Aviat is using its MxL1105 CMOS transceiver along with the MxL85652 and MxL85110 modems. Shipment volumes and expected financial impact of the win were not announced.
socalTECH
APRIL 15, 2020
Los Angeles-based mobile streaming video startup Quibi will not be launching a series about Venice, Californi-based Snapchat , according to a report from Variety. Quibi had said last year at SXSW that it would film a series based on the script "Frat Boy Genius" by Elissa Karasik. Variety did not say why Quibi decided to drop its plans for the series.
socalTECH
APRIL 14, 2020
El Segundo-based real estate acquirer Landmark Dividend , which owns a number of data centers, said this morning that it has acquired a data center campus located in Phoenix, Arizona. According to the company, the acquisition is the 16th data center it has acquired in the last 18 months. Landmark Dividend says its new data center has 184,000 square feet and 16+ MW of power capacity, and is currently more than 50 percent occupied by a long-term, un-named technology-based financial services compan
socalTECH
APRIL 14, 2020
Los Angeles-based e-commerce retailer Newegg announced this morning that it has launched a brand new business, Newegg Staffing , which will provide staffing for the logistics, manufacturing, clerical and supply chain management industries. According to Newegg, the launch of the new business comes as a result of the company's own efforts in the 3PL (logistics) market.
socalTECH
APRIL 14, 2020
West Hills-based optical transceiver developer Source Photonics announced late last night that it has raised $40M in a new equity funding round, to support its data center and 5G business. The company--whose components are used for optical networking--did not disclose the name of the investors in the new equity funding round. Source Photonics is led by CEO Weiming Li.
socalTECH
APRIL 13, 2020
Our interview today is with Greg Martin , co-founder of LiquidStock (www.liquidstock.com), an investment fund which offers up a way for employees of private companies to exercise their stock options before an IPO or acquisition. Grega longtime veteran of venture investingalso shared his thoughts on the current pandemic, how investors are viewing the current market, and what startups can do now to survive through these unusual times.
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