Silicon Beach Report Feb. 8: Snap Inc. Hires Swiss Engineer to Fight Copycats

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Snap Inc. hires Swiss engineer to fight copycats, SpaceX aims for Feb. 18 launch to resupply Space Station, and Exactuals Raises $10 million and signs SAG-AFTRA as client.

Snap Inc. Hires Swiss Engineer to Fight Copycats

Snap Inc. recently hired Laurent Balmelli, an engineer who co-founded Swiss startup Strong.Codes, a maker of tools that obscures software code and makes it harder for competitors to reverse engineer, reports Bloomberg. Snap has been assailed since last summer by an aggressive copycat campaign by Facebook, which aims to steal away the upstart social network’s users.

SpaceX Aims for Feb. 18 Launch to Resupply Space Station

Space Exploration Technologies Corp. is aiming to launch a resupply mission to the International Space Station on Feb. 19, reports TechCrunch. The launch comes just a few weeks after SpaceX launched a commercial satellite, ending a several month freeze on launches caused by a September rocket explosion.

Exactuals Raises $10M, Signs Sag-Aftra as Client

SAG-AFTRA has struck a multiyear agreement with payments software company Exactuals to deliver residuals payments to its members through direct deposit, reports the Hollywood Reporter. The union processes about 4 million paper checks each year amounting to $1 billion in payments.

Send tips on L.A. tech companies and startups to reporter Garrett Reim via [email protected]. Follow @garrettreim on Twitter for the latest in L.A. tech news.

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