Wed.Sep 05, 2018

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Uppercase raises $3.5M to help e-tailers open brick-and-mortar stores

TechCrunch LA

People like to say that brick-and-mortar retail is dead, but direct-to-consumer businesses continue to dabble with physical stores all the same. Why? Because brick-and-mortar retail provides businesses with benefits an online shopping platform can’t , namely consumer experiences that create and sustain shopper’s relationships with brands. .

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Santa Monica-Based Headspace Acquires Alpine.AI

L.A. Business Journal

Santa Monica-based Headspace Inc., a developer of a meditation app used by millions, has acquired Alpine Inc., a developer of artificial intelligence conversation platforms based in San Francisco.

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Core Innovation Capital Backs SynapseFi

socalTECH

Los Angeles-based fintech investor Core Innovation Capital is one of the lead investors in SynapseFi , a developer of APIs and other tools for connecting into banking services. SynapseFi said it raised a $17M Series A--which actually closed at the end of last year--which was led by Trinity Ventures and Core Innovation Capital, along with others. SynapseFi is based in San Francisco.

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Factual Inc. Funding Climbs to $104 Million

L.A. Business Journal

Century City-based geolocation data provider Factual Inc. announced Sept. 5 it raised $42 million in a financing round led by Upfront Ventures and Felicis Ventures. This most recent round brings the company’s total funding to $104 million, according to a company press release.

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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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Westlake Village BioPartners, Led By Amgen Vets, Launches $320M Fund

socalTECH

Westlake Village BioPartners , a brand new venture capital fund focused on the life sciences, said on Wednesday that it has launched a new, $320 investment fund aimed at early stage companies. According to the new venture fund, it was founded by Beth Seidenberg, M.D., general partner at Kleiner Perkins and former chief medical officer and head of global development at Amgen, and Sean Harper, M.D., executive vice president and head of R&D at Amgen.

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Silicon Beach Report Sept. 5: Headspace Acquires Alpine.AI

L.A. Business Journal

Meditation app Headspace acquires artificial intelligence conversation developer; geolocation data company Factual raises $42 million; Netflix hires former Disney executive as head of global products

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AeroVironment Reports Profit Following Divestment in EV Charger Business

L.A. Business Journal

AeroVironment Inc. beat Wall Street estimates on earnings and revenue for the fiscal first quarter.

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Pipeliner Debuts Cloud Version Of Its CRM Software

socalTECH

Los Angeles-based Pipeliner CRM , which develops customer relationship management (CRM) software tools, said on Wednesday that it has rolled out a cloud-only version of its software. The company, led by CEO Nikolaus Kimla, said the new Pipeliner CRM Cloud version allows users access to the same user experience as it has in its hybrid onlin/offline version.

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Westlake Bio Unveils $320M Fund to Put Los Angeles on the Biotech Map

Xconomy

Los Angeles has long been in San Francisco’s shadow when it comes to life sciences investment. But a new venture capital firm led by industry veterans is trying to cast the City of Angels in a new light. Westlake Village BioPartners is launching today with $350 million in committed capital. The Los Angeles-based firm is led by managing directors Beth Seidenberg, a former general partner at venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins, and Sean Harper, the outgoing executive vice president of research an

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Factual Finds $42M In Funding, Takes Total To $104M

socalTECH

Los Angeles-based Factual , the provider of location data led by Gil Elbaz, has raised $42M more in a funding round, the company said on Wednesday morning, bringing its total raised to $104M. According to Factual, the funding included Upfront Ventures, Felicis Ventures, as well as aothers. The company said the funding will go to enhance its product offerings and to grow its business, and in particular help it expand to the Asia Pacific region.

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Mobile World Congress Americas

SoCal Tech Calendar

Tuesday, September 11, 2018 --.

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Songtradr Names CFO

socalTECH

Santa Monica-based Songtradr , a startup developing a music licensing platform, said today that it has named Clare Nicholls as its new Chief Financial Officer. Nicholls will be based at the company's UK office. Songtradr said Nicholls previously worked at Salomon Brothers (now part of Citigroup), UBS Warburg and ABN Amro, and is an advisor to the Marine Transport International, a blockchain enabled supply chain logistics business.

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Canters restaurant royalty raises $9.5 million for Ordermark, a takeout order management service

TechCrunch LA

Alex Canter knows the restaurant business. The scion of Los Angeles’ famous first family of the deli business — the owners of the eponymous Canters restaurant — Canter has been in the food business longer than many seasoned restauranteurs twice his age. While some people had a Bar Mitzvah party, the thirteen year old Canter had section four of his family’s restaurant.

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Omnicharge Launches New Power Bank

socalTECH

Los Angeles-based Omnicharge , a startup that is developing portable power banks, said it has launched a new product called the Omni Ultimate, a portable power bank aimed at business travelers, photographers, filmmakers, and outdoor enthusiasts. The new device includes a 120W pure sine wave output, up to 150W of DC output, and 145Wh of capacity, and will have a MSRP of $599.

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How to Keep Your Business From Running Your Life

Startup Professionals Musings

Every entrepreneur I meet in my role as a small business advisor dreams of making the business run like clockwork, even without them. You are all frustrated when that never happens, even after years of 16-hour days, repeated efforts to hire the right people, and multiple campaigns to delegate more and sign up for less. There is no time for fun, and vacations never happen.

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Gossamer Bio Names Chief Scientific Officer

socalTECH

San Diego-based Gossamer Bio , the biopharmaceuticals firm which is focused on therapeutics in the autoimmune, allergy/inflammation and immuno-oncology disease areas, said today that it has named Luisa Salter-Cid, Ph.D. , as its new Chief Scientific Officer. Salter-Cid spent the last 13 years at Bristol Myers Squibb, having served in such roles as Vice President and Head of Immunology, small molecule Immuno-Oncology and Genomics Discovery.

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Netflix Boosts Consumer Products Efforts In LA

socalTECH

Streaming entertainment provider Netflix is boosting its consumer products efforts out of its Los Angeles office, saying on Tuesday that it has tapped a Disney Parks veteran as its new global products head. According to Netflix, it has hired Christie Fleischer as Global Head of Products, overseeing retail and licensee partnerships, publishing, interactive games, merchandising and experiential events.

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Smith Micro Looks To Sell Off Product Line

socalTECH

Aliso Viejo-based software developer Smith Micro Software announced this morning that it is seeking "strategic options" for one of its product lines. According to Smith Micro, it is seeking strategic options for its QuickLink IoT product line, its line of software that is used to manage smartphones and IoT devices which implement the Open Mobile Alliance OMA-DM stack, including its patents in the area.

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Amazon Expands Tech Hub In San Diego

socalTECH

Online e-commerce giant Amazon announced this morning that it is expanding at its "tech hub" in San Diego, and plans to create 300 new high tech jobs at the location. According to Amazon, it has opened up a new, 85,000 square foot office as its San Diego Tech Hub, where employees will work in the areas of software development, machine learning, cloud computing, and digital entertainment.

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