TechCrunch LA

MAY 13, 2020

So, an eight-year product veteran from Facebook and an internationally renowned barista walk into a coffee bar… It’s not a joke. It’s the origin story for Taika , a new startup that’s aiming to bring natural stimulants to the masses through its juiced up coffee-beverages. The two co-founders, Michael Sharon, an eight-year veteran of Facebook’s mobile product division, and Kalle Freese, a champion barista (it’s a thing) and the co-founder of Sudden Coffee are o

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Startup Los Angeles Seed Funding Product 284

socalTECH

MAY 15, 2020

A new, 60,000 square foot lab and research center in port Hueneme has been set up by the U.S. Navy and its NavalX unit, to help reduce barriers between the Navy and non-traditional partners such as start-ups, small businesses, academia, non-profits, and private capital. According to NavalX, Port Hueneme is one of six new "Tech Bridge" locations for its NavalX Tech Bridge effort, and will be based at the FATHOMWERX laboratory at the Port of Hueneme.

Startup 202

Startup Research Capital Help 202

Berkonomics

MAY 14, 2020

Its a new world out there. Some businesses never sent people to work from home, told they were “essential businesses.” Soon more will reopen as weeks and months go by. That’s a relief for most of us from the combination of boredom and lack of social interaction. Even if we were safer at home as we became experts sharing screens in Zoom.

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Screening Resource Email Customer 156

L.A. Business Journal

MAY 11, 2020

Rocket propulsion manufacturer Aerojet Rocketdyne Inc., a subsidiary of El Segundo-based Aerojet Rocketdyne Holdings Inc., was awarded a $1.79 billion follow-on contract by NASA to manufacture engines.

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El Segundo 165

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.

Company

TechCrunch LA

MAY 12, 2020

This morning, Snap joined a host of startup accelerators shifting its demo day online amid the COVID-19 quarantine. With its third class of startups, Yellow, Snap’s in-house startup accelerator that launched in 2018, brought investors and founders together in private slack channels after a live-streamed presentation. The event kicked off with a few words from CEO Evan Spiegel and soon transitioned into a succession of live-streamed pitches from the 10 startups in Yellow’s latest batc

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Invest Startup Artificial Inteligence Class 237

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 15, 2020

As an angel investor, I see plenty of startups focusing on building an innovative product, but I’m looking for the few who are also leading with an exponential growth strategy, to put them in the category of the next Amazon or Google. Traditional marketing may be adequate for linear growth, but it likely won’t catapult you to Amazon’s unicorn status , or make waves in the business world.

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Marketing Startup Examples Customer 170

L.A. Business Journal

MAY 11, 2020

Embodied Inc., a Pasadena-based artificial intelligence and robotics company, has created an animatronic companion that it describes as “a Pixar character coming to life.

Artificial Inteligence 147

Artificial Inteligence Pasadena Company Companies 147

TechCrunch LA

MAY 14, 2020

A little over a year after its graduation from Y Combinator’s demo day, the on-demand construction materials delivery service Curri is beginning to offer its services in all 50 states. Co-founded by Matt Lafferty and Brian Gonzalez, Curri aims to solve one of the major hurdles for local construction suppliers who miss out on sales because of an inability to deliver to contractors when they need it.

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Services Southern California Seed Funding Demand 217

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 10, 2020

According to most definitions, an entrepreneur is one who envisions a new and different business, meaning one that is not a copy of an existing business model. Many entrepreneurs have a passion and an idea, or even invent a new product, but are never able to execute to the point of creating a startup. Even fewer are able to grow the startup into a viable business.

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Ideas Entrepreneur Satisfaction Summary 127

socalTECH

MAY 14, 2020

Newport Beach-based NextVR , a developer of virtual reality technology, has been acquired by Apple , Apple disclosed on THursday afternoon. Financial terms of the acquisition were not announced. NextVR's backers had included CITIC Guoan Information Industry Co Ltd, NetEase, CMC Holdings, SoftBank Corp., VMS Investment Group, Founder H Fund, China Asset (Holdings) Limited, Spectrum 28, Formation Group, Time Warner Investments, Comcast Ventures, Stephen Ross's RSE Ventures, Mandalay Entertainment

Entertainment 124

Entertainment Acquisition Invest Funding 124

L.A. Business Journal

MAY 11, 2020

Rocket propulsion manufacturer Aerojet Rocketdyne Inc., a subsidiary of El Segundo-based Aerojet Rocketdyne Holdings Inc., was awarded a $1.79 billion follow-on contract by NASA to manufacture 18 engines for the agency’s Space Launch System rocket.

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El Segundo 130

TechCrunch LA

MAY 14, 2020

Ettitude , the Los Angeles-based, direct-to-consumer startup making sustainable bedding and sleepwear from bamboo fibers, has raised a sustainably sized round that should keep the company going even in the face of an economic recession. Co-founded by the Melbourne, Australia native Phoebe Yu and serial entrepreneur Kat Dey, ettitude sells high-end bamboo bedding made using a process she first heard about in her old job working as an exporter helping chain stores source textiles in China.

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Sample Startup Los Angeles Sales 184

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 13, 2020

One of the biggest challenges we all face when put into business leadership roles is how to communicate most effectively. As a mentor to entrepreneurs over the years, I see many of you who don’t communicate enough, others who seem to do all the talking, and some that are hesitant to be direct and open. I find that having the right mindset is key to getting all these right.

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Startup Ideas Examples Metrics 124

socalTECH

MAY 12, 2020

Los Angeles-based consumer electronics giant Belkin says it is working with the University of Illinois, to make available an emergency ventilator, which was designed in conjunction with the University of Illinois. According to Belkin, the FlexVent Gas-Operated Ventilator is pending the review and approavl of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). According to Belkin, the FlexVent will be used as a single-use, emergency ventilator that can provide constant-flow, pressure-cycled ventilation autom

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Belkin Technical Review Los Angeles Design 124

L.A. Business Journal

MAY 11, 2020

Montauk Technologies has secured intellectual property rights from Caltech for technologies that can help first responders, miners and underwater workers locate humans and objects when GPS falls short.

CalTech 130

CalTech IP Technology Help 130

TechCrunch LA

MAY 12, 2020

Over the past three years the Los Angeles-based startup Maple Media has amassed a portfolio of roughly thirty companies and one hundred apps in its quest to become the IAC of app store businesses. And n ow, even with the economy continuing to collapse, the company is on the prowl for new acquisitions and expects to spend tens of millions of dollars on new deals. “We look at three pillars of our types of apps… casual games, mobile games, and personal tools,” said Maple Media chi

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Acquisition Media Los Angeles Google 136

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 9, 2020

We are now solidly in the era of big data , where computers are capturing and processing the details of everything we do with all our interconnected devices in real time. Businesses see this as the Holy Grail for finally being able to predict who, where, and when customers will buy their existing solutions, and what their future solutions must look like to be attractive.

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Social Media Research Examples Commerce 124

socalTECH

MAY 12, 2020

Los Angeles-based digital audio advertising provider Triton Digital said this morning that it has integrated its services with advertising technology firm Amobee. The company said it has integrated Amobee's demand-side platform with its programmatic audio marketplace. Triton Digital said the integration allows Amobee clients can now execute global, targeted, brand-safe audio ad buys through both open marketplace and private marketplace deals.

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Advertising Content Demand Los Angeles 124

L.A. Business Journal

MAY 11, 2020

Rocket Lab USA Inc., a Long Beach-based space systems company, has acquired Canadian satellite hardware manufacturer Sinclair Interplanetary.

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Long Beach Company Companies 130

SoCal Tech Calendar

MAY 14, 2020

Wednesday, May 20, 2020 -- The Mindset of an Investor Today. Join Peter Cowen (Managing Director, Sutton Capital Partners) as we explore what SaaS investors are looking for in the current climate. Sutton Capital Partners and the Recurring Revenue Conference. 5/20/20 - Mark Mullen, Co-Founder, Bonfire Ventures.

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SaaS Conference Capital 100

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 11, 2020

Even though the color of their money is always green, all startup investors are not the same. Struggling entrepreneurs are often so happy to get a funding offer that they neglect the recommended reverse due diligence on the investors. Taking on equity investors to fund your company is much like getting married – it is a long-term relationship that has to work at all levels.

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Technical Review Funding Innocal Offshore 124

socalTECH

MAY 15, 2020

Syndio , a developer of software being used by companies to help fix pay inequities in the workplace--and whose co-founder is based in LA--has raised $7.5M in a Series A funding. The funding came from Voyager Capital and the Emerson Collective. Syndio's headquarters are in Seattle, but co-founder and Chief Data Scientist Zev Eigen is based in Los Angeles.

Layoffs 113

Layoffs Equity Los Angeles Software 113

L.A. Business Journal

MAY 11, 2020

Rocket Lab USA Inc., a Long Beach-based space systems company, has acquired Canadian satellite hardware manufacturer Sinclair Interplanetary.

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Long Beach Company Companies 130

Xconomy

MAY 13, 2020

In every National Football League game, athletes must accomplish two difficult things that rest at opposite ends of the spectrum: rigor and speed. If their movements are off by even half a second, they risk being tackled by their opponent. Game over. In this COVID-19 day and age, believe it or not, the NFL serves as a valuable model for the life science industry.

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Activity Develop Development San Diego 103

Southern California Edison Blog

MAY 15, 2020

Users trying to stream video originating from a low latency network are likely to become frustrated as the media becomes slow to load and its quality becomes choppy. Without the proper bandwidth, your enterprise is limiting its ability to effectively host videos and load other forms of content. Media and content creation businesses expanding their services to meet future content needs require a network that can support growing media content demands.

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Content Networking Media Demand 63

socalTECH

MAY 15, 2020

Santa Barbara-based Briq , a developer of software used for financial forecasting in the construction industry, raised $10M this week, in what it says was a Series A funding round. The funding was led by existing investor Blackhorn Ventures, and also included Eniac Ventures, MetaProp Ventures, and Darling Ventures. Briq was founded by Bassem Hamdy and Ron Coldschmidt, and previously had announced $3M funding round in October of 2019.

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Santa Barbara Funding Software Develop 113

TechCrunch LA

MAY 14, 2020

“I spend a lot of time being angry — but I’m still hopeful. Gender bias in medicine is systemic,” says Carine Carmy, the fast-talking CEO and co-founder of Origin , during a condensed chat about her startup mission to make physical therapy for women and mothers accessible and affordable across the US, both online and through a network of physical clinics.

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Startup Los Angeles Platform Research 140

Xconomy

MAY 15, 2020

This was a disappointing week for at least two major drug makers. French firm Genfit reported a trial failure in an intensely competitive indication, and New York-based Bristol Myers Squibb encountered a delay when the FDA declined to review its experimental multiple myeloma treatment. Genfit (NASDAQ: GNFT ) was developing a treatment for nonalcoholic steatohepatitis, or NASH, but the drug fell short of expectations in a Phase 3 trial, stymieing the company’s hopes of continuing to advance it to

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Competition Report Develop Development 68

socalTECH

MAY 15, 2020

Camarillo-based analog and mixed signal semiconductor provider Semtech has scored a design win with a utility meter developer, Vision Metering. According to Semtech, Vision Metering is a developer of Internet of Things (IoT) utility metering solutions, and will use its LoRa devices and LoRaWAN protocol in its smart electric meters. Expected shipment volumes and financial impact of the design win were not announced.

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Design Develop Development 113

socalTECH

MAY 15, 2020

Simi Valley-based unmanned aircraft systems maker AeroVironment says it has been awarded a $146M contract from the United States Army, for its "Switchblade" "aerial missile system". The company said the first year is worth $76M. The company said it will provide a full system, including Switchblade systems, operator training, and support and logistics.

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Training Company Companies 113

socalTECH

MAY 15, 2020

The The Boring Company , the Elon Musk company which is developing underground transportation systems, has completed digging its tunnels underneath the Las Vegas Convention Center. The tunnels are part of a planned effort to shuttle visitors to the property via a high speed underground transportation. The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority is hoping to be transporting passengers on the system by January of 2021.

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Company Companies Develop Development 113

socalTECH

MAY 14, 2020

Santa Monica-based Headspace says it will offer up free subscriptions to its meditation and mindfulness tools to all unemployed Americans. According to the company, it will provide free, one-year subscriptions and access to a new collection of exercises called "Living through unemployment." According to Headspace, the offer will give all Americans who are unemployed free "Headspace Plus" subscriptions, giving them access to all 1200+ hours of meditation and mindfulness content on the service.

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Santa Monica Tool Content Help 113

socalTECH

MAY 14, 2020

Irvine-based Prodoscore , which develops software for monitoring employee productivity, has raised a Series A funding round, led by Troy Carter. Size of the investment was not announced. According to Prodoscore, the funding goes towards sales and product development. Prodoscore's software is used to measure employee productivity, both in the office and remotely; the company says it is seeing heightened demand for its product as a result of the move to remote workforces brought on by the COVID-19

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Santa Monica Demand Product Software 113

socalTECH

MAY 13, 2020

Have you ever wanted to dock a spacecraft with the International Space Station ? Hawthorne-based SpaceX has just released an online simulator, where you can try your hand at docking one of the SpaceX Dragon capsules with the ISS--using the exact controls that NASA astronauts will be using. The ISS docking simulator allows anyone to attempt to maneuver a simulated Dragon capsule, using a complete set of pitch, yaw, roll, and thrust controls, to successfully dock the Dragon with the ISS.

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socalTECH

MAY 13, 2020

Irvine-based Allied Esports says it is ramping its online content efforts, with new original content and production in Europe. According to the company, it will launch a new HyperX show and move its Esports Expo "Gamevention" online, as gamers and esports fans have moved online during the pandemic. The company says it is partnering with Home of Esports for creating new events online, and also noted a special effort to work with naming rights partner and fellow Orange County company HyperX titled

Content 113

Content Orange County Product Company 113

socalTECH

MAY 13, 2020

Los Angeles-based Openpath , a developer of mobile access control systems, says it has launched a new "hands-free" feature as part of a new firmware release. According to the company, its new system lets users wave their hands in front of a reader--without touching any physical surfaces--to unlock an entry, helping building owners, managers and tenants who are looking to reduce risks for workplace re-entry.

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Los Angeles Design Mobile Help 113