TechCrunch LA
OCTOBER 2, 2020
Grindr, one of the world’s largest dating and social networking apps for gay, bi, trans, and queer people, has fixed a security vulnerability that allowed anyone to hijack and take control of any user’s account using only their email address. Wassime Bouimadaghene , a French security researcher, found the vulnerability and reported the issue to Grindr.
L.A. Business Journal
SEPTEMBER 28, 2020
While the global pandemic has disrupted almost every industry, some businesses are experiencing accelerated growth during the crisis.
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Startup Professionals Musings
SEPTEMBER 26, 2020
Every entrepreneur has an idea for transforming a market with innovative new technology, or transforming society with a new process. But unfortunately, most of these ideas fail at the execution level, or are not truly innovative. Entrepreneurs who have been really transformative, like Steve Jobs and Walt Disney, seemed to know how to deal with all the right elements.
socalTECH
SEPTEMBER 30, 2020
Santa Monica-based Cornerstone OnDemand , which develops employee development software, says that a survey it has run has found that 50 percent of employees it surveyed desire time off to study their ballot before they vote. Cornerstone OnDemand said it ran a survey with YouGove, which provides public opinion and data, finding 80% of adults typically spend less than two hours to learn about their ballot--and could use additional time off to study their upcoming ballots.
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.
TechCrunch LA
OCTOBER 1, 2020
Google today announced a few updates to Live View, the augmented reality walking directions in its Google Maps app that officially launched last year. Live View uses your phone’s camera and GPS to tell you exactly where to go, making it a nice addition to the standard map-centric directions in similar applications. The new features Google is introducing today include the ability to invoke Live View from the transit tab in Google Maps when you’re on a journey that includes multiple mo
L.A. Business Journal
SEPTEMBER 28, 2020
While the global pandemic has disrupted almost every industry, some businesses are experiencing accelerated growth during the crisis.
Southern California Tech Central brings together the best content for technical professionals in Southern California from the widest variety of industry thought leaders.
socalTECH
SEPTEMBER 28, 2020
Fountain Valley-based gaming accessory maker HyperX launched a new product this morning, a new, USB microphone with fancy RGB lighting effects. According to HyperX, its new microphone, the HyperX QuadCast S , includes RGB lighting effects, anti-vibration shock mount, pop filter, and more features. The company said the microphone is aimed at streamers, online broadcasters, and work from home professionals.
Xconomy
SEPTEMBER 30, 2020
Ovid Therapeutics and Takeda Pharmaceutical joined forces three years ago to develop a small molecule into a potential epilepsy drug. That research is starting to pay off as the companies now look ahead to pivotal studies testing that compound in several inherited forms of the disorder. On Wednesday, New York-based Ovid (NASDAQ: OVID ) reported Phase 2 results showing that the molecule, soticlestat, reduced the frequency of epileptic seizures in CDKL5 deficiency disorder (CDD) and chromosome 15q
L.A. Business Journal
SEPTEMBER 28, 2020
With in-person gallery visits largely halted by the pandemic, the business of art has taken a severe hit.
Startup Professionals Musings
OCTOBER 2, 2020
Entrepreneurs seem more quickly frustrated these days when their “million-dollar idea” doesn’t turn into a sustainable business overnight. They don’t realize that it takes many skills to build a business under the best of circumstances, and today’s world of instant gratification doesn’t leave room for the patience and practice to develop these skills.
socalTECH
OCTOBER 2, 2020
Los Angeles-based Math Games , a developer of online games focused on teaching math, says it has seen its user base skyrocket due to the pandemic, reporting it has now seen more than 50 million downloads, and now is being used by over 31 million students across the country. The company, led by CEO Bill Kara, says is has seen a 200% overall rise in traffic to the site due to the pandemic, and now sees 85,000 daily active users.
L.A. Business Journal
SEPTEMBER 28, 2020
Torrance-based Harvest Pack Inc. has found an evergreen niche in the food packaging business.
Startup Professionals Musings
SEPTEMBER 30, 2020
As a business advisor, I listen to many of you entrepreneurs talking about achieving your dreams, but too few of you have structured that dream, and can express it in a set of specific goals, with a timeline for getting there. You all hope I have some magic formula for success , but the reality is that only you can pick the goals that match your passion, work ethic, and desired outcome.
socalTECH
OCTOBER 2, 2020
San Diego-based wireless device and IoT products maker Inseego announced late Thursday that it has added an additional board member. According to the company, it has increased the number of directors on its boards from five to six, and added Christopher Lytle to the board. Lytle is the company's current Head of Government Affairs, where he has been since April 2020; he also previously served as Chief Strategy Officer and EVP of Enterprise Saas Solutions from August 2017 to October 2018, and has
Xconomy
OCTOBER 2, 2020
Amid the bombast of Tuesday’s presidential debate, viewers caught some discussion about the response to the coronavirus pandemic and efforts to develop a COVID-19 vaccine. In the crosstalk, the president made an unsupported claim that we are weeks away from having vaccines. It’s true that some pharmaceutical companies are already manufacturing their COVID-19 vaccine candidates for broader use.
L.A. Business Journal
SEPTEMBER 28, 2020
Sawtelle-based marketing consulting firm Hawke Media has partnered with the city of Los Angeles for the inaugural Ecommerce Week LA, a virtual event taking place from Sept. 28 to Oct. 2.
Startup Professionals Musings
SEPTEMBER 27, 2020
A common question I get is “How do I get a bank loan to fund my startup?” The default answer is that it probably won’t happen, because most banks just don’t make bank loans to startups. The failure rate is just too high, and startups typically don’t have the assets or revenue stream to back up the loan. That’s why angel and equity investors are so sought after by entrepreneurs.
socalTECH
OCTOBER 1, 2020
Los Angeles-based J2 Global , which operates a wide range of Internet businesses and publications, said this morning that it has launched a private offering where it is is looking to raised $1.2B in senior notes, due in 2030. The company said the funds will go to redeem an existing $650M in 6.0% senior notes due in 2025. J2 Global expects to use the remainder of the net proceeds from the offering for general corporate purposes, which may include acquisitions and repurchases.
L.A. Business Journal
SEPTEMBER 28, 2020
Glendale-based artificial intelligence company Beyond Limits Inc. has raised $113 million in a Series C funding round with another roughly $20 million committed.
socalTECH
OCTOBER 1, 2020
Irvine-based Hyperice" , which develops percussion, thermal, vibration and dynamic air compression devices used for athletic recovery, announced today that Patrick Mahomes has become an investor in the company, and also will serve as an "athletic ambassador" for the company. Size of the investment was not announced. Mahomes is the quarterback for the National Football Leageu's Kansas City Chiefs.
socalTECH
SEPTEMBER 30, 2020
According to a new report, Santa Monica-based "on-demand" scooter company Bird recently started running a program which allows the contractors who charge its scooters to acquire their own fleet of scooters--but which, as a result of the pandemic--has saddled many with huge amounts of debt. According tot he report--from One Zero--the attempt by Bird was a way for the company to offload the expense of rolling out its scooters to third parties, including entrepreneurs, local bike shops, and indepen
socalTECH
SEPTEMBER 30, 2020
Santa Monica-based Ring , the maker of security cameras, doorbells, and other products, was seeing major downtime on Wednesday, with users reporting that the service and doorbells were "basically unusable". Users reported on social media that their doorbells were going off randomly, motion alerts from hours ago were finally showing up on their phone, and support was unreachable.
socalTECH
SEPTEMBER 30, 2020
Simi Valley-based unmanned aircraft developer AeroVironment announced a deal this morning with Robotic Skies , a provider of maintenance, repair, and overhaul of unmanned aircraft systems. According to AeroVironment, Robotic Skies will provide field maintenance, inspection, and repair support for AeroVironment customers, particularly on AeroVironment's new all-electric VAPOR 55 helicopter unmanned aircraft system.
socalTECH
SEPTEMBER 30, 2020
Manhattan Beach-based Pod Network LLC , which develops a social networking application, announced this morning that it has merged with STEMconnector , which runs a professional services firm focused on creating a STEM-ready workforce. Financial details of the deal were not announced. The two said they with both continue their normal business operations, but use Pod's technology platform to connect the STEM community; they will operate as STEMConnector - Powered by Pod , and will focus on connect
socalTECH
SEPTEMBER 29, 2020
Santa Barbara-based whole home audio systems maker Sonos has filed another patent infringement suit at Google , saying that Google has infringed on five wireless audio patents held by the company. The lawsuit is the second filed against Google by Sonos, which also sued Google over similar patents in January. The two companies are in a back and forth tussle by the two, as Google has attempted to muscle its way into the home audio streaming market.
socalTECH
SEPTEMBER 29, 2020
Los Angeles-based Social Native , which operates an online marketplace which helps brands source visual content says it has acquired Olapic , a service focused on user-generated, influencer, and short-form video content for brands. Financial terms of the acquisition were not announced. Social Native said that Olapic will operate as a division of the company.
socalTECH
SEPTEMBER 29, 2020
Los Angeles-based electric vehicle developer Fisker Inc. said today that it has named the President and CEO of ServiceNow, Bill McDermott, to its board of directors. Fisker said the move comes ahead of its merger with Apollo affiliated Spartan Energy Acquisition Corporation (NYSE: SPAQ). ServiceNow says it expects the merger to be completed later this year, which will result in Fisker's Class A common stock trading on the New York Stock Exchange.
socalTECH
SEPTEMBER 29, 2020
Los Angeles-based HONK Technologies , which is developing an app that helps provide roadside assistance to users, has signed up an insurance firm as a customer. According to HONK, it has signed up Wawanesa Insurance, and will manage the roadside assistance program for the insurance company. Financial details of the deal were not announced. HONK says that Wawanesa is ranked the number one insurance company in California for customer satisfaction, according to J.D.
socalTECH
SEPTEMBER 29, 2020
Los Angeles-based Kharon , a research and data analytics company focused on global security threats, says it has received a strategic investment from Barclays. The size of that investment was not announced. According to Kharon, Barclays joins Equity Group Investment, as well as other institutional and private equity investors in the company. Kharon's services focus on providing information on trade, regulatory and financial crime compliance.
socalTECH
SEPTEMBER 29, 2020
Los Angeles-based Leonardo247 , which provides remote monitoring of onsite, multifamily operations, has raised $9.5M in a funding round, the company said this morning. The funding was led by private equity investor Level Equity. According to Leonardo247, the funding will go to support its ongoing growth in the remote property management area, as well as expansion into other commercial real estate markets.
socalTECH
SEPTEMBER 29, 2020
San Diego-based Seismic , which develops sales enablement and marketing software, has joined the unicorn club, saying this morning that it has raised $92M in a Series F funding, which values the company at approximately $1.6 billion. The company--led by co-founder and CEO Doug Winter--said the funding was led by Permira funds, and also included strategic investors Ameriprise Financial and EDBI, along with Jackson Square Ventures, Lightspeed Venture Partners, and T.
socalTECH
SEPTEMBER 28, 2020
Los Angeles-based Lyre's Non-Alcoholic Spirit Co. , which develops non-alcoholic drinks which have the flavor--but not the alcohol--of popular spirits, has raised $11.5M in a seed funding round. The funding came from VRD Investment, Doehler Ventures, DLF Venture, Maropost Ventures, and HNWI, along with a number of family offices. Lyre's said the funding comes as it prepares to launch a "ready-to-drink" range of products.
socalTECH
SEPTEMBER 28, 2020
Hawthorne-based SpaceX says it is pushing off its planned launch of another, 60 Starlink satellites which were scheduled to launch on Monday. According to SpaceX, the launch--which was set to take off at 10:22AM EDT--was delayed due to weather. SpaceX did not announced a new target date for the launch. The launch will be at Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center.
socalTECH
SEPTEMBER 28, 2020
Logically.ai , a startup which recently set up an office in Los Angeles, says it is developing artificial intelligence which it claims can help fact check statements and news, says it will apply its AI application to fact check the U.S. Presidential debates. The company says it will use both artificial and human intelligence to "uncover and address misinformation".
socalTECH
SEPTEMBER 28, 2020
Huntington Beach-based Rocket Lab , the space launch startup led by Peter Beck, is aiming at beating NASA to Venus , in the hopes of helping to search for extraterrestrial life. According to Beck, it plans to dispatch its own space probe to Venus, to "scout for signs of extraterrestrial life". Rocket Lab apparently has been working on the Venus mission for several months.
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