Sat.Oct 26, 2019 - Fri.Nov 01, 2019

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Uber Sues LA Over Location Data

socalTECH

According to a report, Uber has sued Los Angeles , in a bid to keep information on the location of its fleet of on-demand scooters private. The lawsuit comes in response to rules, put into place back in 2018, where the Los Angeles Department of Transportation (LADOT) requires scooter companies operating in the city to provide location data on where their vehicles are.

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LA-based gaming studio Scopely raises $200 million at a $1.4 billion valuation

TechCrunch LA

The Los Angeles-based mobile game development studio Scopely has become America’s newest unicorn thanks to a $200 million financing which values the company at a whopping $1.4 billion. Scopely said it would use the capital to continue its strategy of developing and acquiring new games as it looks to continue its run of six consecutive mobile games that will gross $100 million or more in lifetime revenue.

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FDA Halts Novartis Gene Therapy Study Amid Animal Safety Concerns

Xconomy

Novartis must stop enrollment of a clinical trial testing its gene therapy for a rare, muscular disorder after safety concerns surfaced in data from an animal study. The FDA put a partial clinical hold on a Phase 1/2 study testing the therapy, Zolgensma, Novartis (NYSE: NVS ) announced Wednesday. The decision doesn’t halt the study entirely; it means that no new patients can be added.

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Fisker Previews First Electric Vehicle

L.A. Business Journal

Torrance-based electric vehicle developer Fisker Inc. will debut its first fully electric sport utility vehicle in January 2020.

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Can You Ask for Office Rent Relief? How to Manage Your Lease During COVID-19

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.

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Do you act like an Eagle Scout?

Berkonomics

You may have been a Girl Scout or a Boy Scout in your youth. Certainly, you are aware of the top rank in each – the Gold Award for girls and the Eagle badge for boys. Scouting teaches leadership and even if we were not members in our youth, there are lessons for us all. Be prepared! For example, the Boy Scouts of America motto is “Be prepared.” And from that comes training in first aid, disaster preparation, and outdoor skills, planning for events and outings, and any number of simulations or

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Backed by Will Smith and FabFitFun, OurPlace brings cookware and dinnerware direct to consumers

TechCrunch LA

The husband and wife co-founders behind the direct-to-consumer cookware and dinnerware startup retailer OurPlace are big believers in the notion that the doorway to inclusive communities opens through the kitchen. . Amir Tehrani, the company’s co-founder and chief executive spent, his life in the cookware and kitchen business, while his wife, Shiza Tehrani, is the co-founder of the Malala Fund, supporting educational initiatives for young women around the world, and Now Ventures, an impac

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Game Dev Make n' Mingle

SoCal Tech Calendar

Thursday, November 7, 2019 -- GET YOUR GAME ON! NYFA is not just a great place to learn about making games, it's a great place to make games! Come to NYFA to work on your game projects and make new friends! We'll supply the workspace, the pizza, the wifi and the mentorship. You provide the rest! This event is open to the entire gaming community, whether you are a NYFA student or not, so bring a friend!

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Scopely Raises $200 Million Series D

L.A. Business Journal

Mobile game developer and publisher Scopely Inc. raised a $200 million Series D round led by NewView Capital.

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Los Angeles-based BuildOps, subcontracting software for real estate, raises $5.8 million

TechCrunch LA

Software development companies tackling services for niche industries, like commercial real estate subcontracting, continue to find Los Angeles to be fertile ground for development. The latest company to raise funding from a clutch of investors is BuildOps , which raised $5.8 million in seed financing from some big names in the Los Angeles tech ecosystem.

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Amgen Takes Stake In Chinese Oncology Company

socalTECH

Thousand Oaks-based Amgen said on Thursday afternoon that it has taken a 20.5 percent stake in BeiGene , a research-based, oncology-focused biotechnology company in China. According to Amgen, it paid approximately $2.7 billion in cash for the stake in BeiGene, which it says it will use to expand its oncology presence in China. BeiGene has a 700-person commercial organization and 600-person clinical development organization, according to Amgen.

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FundingPost San Diego VC and Angel Investor Event

SoCal Tech Calendar

Wednesday, November 6, 2019 -- FundingPost San Diego VC and Angel Investor Event/ Interested in meeting and pitching to early-stage Angel Investors and Venture Capitalists in Southern California? Register for the FundingPost event on Wednesday, November 6th, 2019. FundingPost has hosted 400 sold-out venture events in 22 cities over the past 17 years.

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5 Steps To Successful Problem Solving For A Business

Startup Professionals Musings

Perhaps sparked by the now forgotten recession, I’m seeing a new era of the entrepreneur, with startups springing up all around. Based on my own mentoring and investing experience, the best entrepreneurs are pragmatic problem solvers. They have an uncanny ability to find elegant, easy, and fast solutions to pain points in the marketplace, as well as their own challenges.

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PeerStreet Raises $60 Million

L.A. Business Journal

El Segundo-based real estate technology startup PeerStreet raised $60 million.

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Knightscope Turns To StartEngine For Fundraising Effort

socalTECH

Security robot maker Knightscope has turned to Los Angeles-based crowdfunding site StartEngine , to help it raise crowdfunding for its efforts. According to Knightscope, it is running a Reg A+ offering on the StartEngine platform, as the company says it prepared for a public listing. Reg A+ is a security rule which allows non-accredited investors to invest in companies, without meeting what previously had been strict financial rules for accepting individual investments in private companies.

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Preccelerator Workshop: Employment Law for Startups with Rachael Lavi

SoCal Tech Calendar

Tuesday, November 5, 2019 -- Preccelerator Workshop: Employment Law for Startups with Rachael Lavi. Rachael Lavi, an Attorney specializing in Labor and Employment matters in California, will be speaking on the top employment law risks for startup companies in California, including: (1) best practices for hiring employees; (2) independent contractors and misclassification issues; (3) how to utilize interns; and other significant legal risks.

Startup 100
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10 Insights For Locating The Perfect Business Mentor

Startup Professionals Musings

Every entrepreneur can learn from a mentor, no matter how confident or successful they have been to date. Most people don’t know that billionaire Mark Zuckerberg , for example, gives real credit to the inspiring mentorship of Steve Jobs for Mark’s Facebook success. Yet most entrepreneurs simply don’t know how to work with a mentor. It is not as simple as one person giving the other all the right answers.

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Fair Loses CEO Painter

L.A. Business Journal

Departure follows deep layoffs at car-leasing startup

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PeerStreet Picks Up $60M In Series C

socalTECH

Los Angeles-based real estate loan marketplace PeerStreet , which is led by CEO Brew Johnson, has raised $60M in a series C funding, the company said this week, and also secured $4.25 billion in new capital commitments from institutions to purchase loans on its platform. According to PeerStreet, the equity funding round was led by Colchis Capital, along with an un-named consortium of institutional investors.

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Preccelerator Workshop: Employment Law for Startups with Rachael Lavi

SoCal Tech Calendar

Tuesday, November 5, 2019 -- Preccelerator Workshop: Employment Law for Startups with Rachael Lavi. Rachael Lavi, an Attorney specializing in Labor and Employment matters in California, will be speaking on the top employment law risks for startup companies in California, including: (1) best practices for hiring employees; (2) independent contractors and misclassification issues; (3) how to utilize interns; and other significant legal risks.

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7 Secrets to Leading Others and Enjoying Your Legacy

Startup Professionals Musings

By default, every one of you who owns a business or manages a team has the title of leader, but in my consulting experience, I find that just having the title doesn’t make most of us a leader. I also find that leaders are made, not born , meaning that we all can grow into leadership, if we learn from experience. I find also that if you fail as a leader, your team will likely fail with you.

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Biotech Roundup: Novartis on Hold, AMAG Vote, Neuro News & More

Xconomy

The brain has stymied many efforts to develop new neuroscience drugs, leading a number of big pharmaceutical companies to pull back on such R&D work. This week, Amgen joined them. Amgen (NASDAQ: AMGN ) is ending its research and early development programs in neuroscience, the company announced during a conference call to discuss third-quarter financial results.

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Fisker Names New Electric SUV: The Fisker Ocean

socalTECH

Los Angeles-based Fisker , which is developing all electric cars, unveiled the name and details on its upcoming all electric luxury SUV. According to Fisker, its new car will be known as The Fisker Ocean , which it claims will be the "world's most sustainable vehicle". The company says it will be opening up reservations for the new vehicle on November 27th.

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FundingPost Orange County VC and Angel Investor Event

SoCal Tech Calendar

Monday, November 4, 2019 -- FundingPost Orange County VC and Angel Investor Event. Interested in meeting and pitching to early-stage Angel Investors and Venture Capitalists in Southern California? Register for the FundingPost event on Tuesday, November 5th, 2019. FundingPost has hosted 400 sold-out venture events in 22 cities over the past 17 years.

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How Starting A Business Fits Into Every Career Today

Startup Professionals Musings

With the cost of starting an online business today at an all-time low, I can’t imagine why everyone doesn’t have a web site and an LLC to mitigate liability and minimize taxes. You need to have these as backup, in case the gig economy catches up to you, or you need a side hustle for extra income, or being in control of your dream role as an entrepreneur finally becomes a passion.

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Group Seeks Congressional Investigation Over Ring Cameras

socalTECH

In continued heat for Santa Monica-based security and doorbell camera maker Ring , a civil liberty and privacy group has more than 10,000 people calling for a Congressional investigation into the "surveillance dragnet" Ring is creating. Ring--which is now part of Amazon--has been actively courting local police departments, offering up automated ways to pull up video from Ring surveillance doorbells without a warrant.

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TOCA Football Takes $25M

socalTECH

Costa Mesa-based TOCA Football , a company which says it uses "technology-enabled experience" to help provide soccer training, has raised $25M in a Series D funding round. The round was led by WestRiver Group (WRG), RNS Partners (RNS), as well as un-named family office investors. The company said that, as part of the funding, it has appointed Yoshi Maruyama as its CEO.

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Neuronoff Gets $2.2M Grant

socalTECH

Valencia-based medical device developer Neuronoff says it has received $2.2M in a National Institutions of Health (NIH), to go towards its medical device, a injectable metal electrode for treating chronic back pain. According to Neuronoff, the company's implant specifically helps to combat opioid abuse, by offering up an alternative treatment to chronic back pain.

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Semtech Powers Line Of LoRa Industrial Sensors

socalTECH

Camarillo-based analog and mixed-signal semiconductor developer increasing the use of its wireless LoRa devices in the industrial sector, by powering a line of sensors for the industrial market. According to Semtech, Radio Bridge, a supplier of wireless Internet-of-Things (IoT) sensor products that use LoRa, has rolled out an "Armored Sensor" product line which provide tracking of accurate, real-time data for a variety of industrial applications including oil and gas, air quality and utility mon

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Inseego Donates MiFi Hotspots To Fire Stricken NorCal

socalTECH

San Diego-based Inseego says it has donated a number of its 4G LTE Mi-Fi mobile hotspots to aid disaster relief, to the Northern California VOAD network, in order to provide communications during the power outages and wildfires across the state. According to Inseego, it also is offering up those hotspots to agencies in need, upon request. The hotspots are fully activated with service fro Spring and Verizon, and also include batteries and solar portable chargers for recharging wireless devices.

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Green Dot, Walmart To Launch Fintech Accelerator

socalTECH

Pasadena-based Green Dot and Walmart said on Monday afternoon that they have created a fintech accelerator, as part of an extended relationship. According to the two, Green Dot will continue to serve as the issuing bank and program manager for the Walmart MoneyCard program for an additional period of seven years. Green Dot has been managing Walmart's MoneyCard program since 2006.

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FundingPost Los Angeles VC and Angel Investor Event

SoCal Tech Calendar

Monday, November 4, 2019 -- FundingPost Los Angeles VC and Angel Investor Event. Interested in meeting and pitching to early-stage Angel Investors and Venture Capitalists in Southern California? Register for the FundingPost event on Monday, November 4th, 2019. FundingPost has hosted 400 sold-out venture events in 22 cities over the past 17 years. At our next event, the panel of Investors will focus on Early-Stage Venture Investing: How to meet investors, pitch them, and what it really takes to g

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Good Today Launches Subscription Philanthropy Service

socalTECH

Los Angeles-based Good Today , a new nonprofit whose co-founders include Tinder's Sean Rad and investor Guy Oseary, and also has the backing of investor and actor Ashton Kutcher, said today that it has launched a new, subscription service which lets anyone help charities for as little as 25 cents per day. The nonprofit says the service allows corporations and businesses to sponsor each of their employees 25 cent donation each day, which can be directed to different charities that are featured ea

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Arrive Expands Into Snow Apparel

socalTECH

Santa Monica-based online, outdoor gear rental service Arrive says it is expanding its service to cover snow apparel and accessories, including pants, jackets, goggles, and gloves, for kids, women and men. The service says the gear can be delivered either to a customer's home, or even directly to a mountain resort. The gear includes apparel for kids, women, and men.

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Modulim Names New CEO

socalTECH

Irvine-based Modulim , which develops optical imaging products used for noninvasive tissue assessment, said today that it has named Richard Oberreiter as its new CEO. Oberreiter has been the company's Chief Operations Officer (COO) since 2014, and replaces existing CEO David Cuccia, Ph.D., the company's founder, who remains as Chief Technical Officer.

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Boundless Bio Names Chief Scientific Officer

socalTECH

San Diego-based Boundless Bio , the biopharmaceuticals startup which recently raised $46M for treating aggressive cancers , has named Christian ("Chris") Hassig, Ph.D., as its Chief Scientific Officer. Hassig previously was Chief Scientific Officer of Sierra Oncology, and also has served at such other institutions and companies as Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute, Kalypsys, and the Scripps Research Insitute.

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Virgin Galactic Debuts On NYSE

socalTECH

Virgin Galactic , the space tourism company led by Richard Branson, has officially debuted on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the symbol SPCE, after a reverse merger effort by the company in a deal with a blank-shell merger company owned by Chamath Palihapitiya. Virgin Galactic had a splashy launch on the NYSE on Monday, including a giant banner on the outside of the stock exchange, a firework show, and Richard Branson parading around the exchange in the company's signature "space suit"

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