Sat.Nov 03, 2018 - Fri.Nov 09, 2018

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Idealab's Energy Vault Launches Energy Storage Technology

socalTECH

Energy Vault , a startup created by Pasadena-based startup incubator Idealab , announced this morning that it has launched its utility-scale energy storage technology into commercial availability. Energy Vault's technology--which looks like a wild idea created in Minecraft--uses immense concrete blocks, which store energy from renewable energy, using the same principles of pumping and storing water for energy storage.

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Cornerstone Buys Grovo Learning for $24M

L.A. Business Journal

Santa Monica-based Cornerstone OnDemand Inc. has acquired privately held Grovo Learning Inc., a New York City-based technology company.

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Syntiant Snags $25M For Edge Computing

socalTECH

Irvine-based Syntiant , which is developing semiconductor used for edge computing, raised $25M in its Series B funding. The funding came from Sunstone Venture Capital Fund, along with Seraph Group, plus Microsoft, Intel, Amazon, Robert Bosch, Applied Materials, and Motorola, according to the company. Sunstone was an investor in its Series A funding.

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Money is not the only measure of success.

Berkonomics

I am sure you heard of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs that motivate our behavior, in which Abraham Maslow laid out a human’s needs – from the physiological, to safety, then love and belonging, on to esteem and finally self-actualization. A little too esoteric for you? Let’s make it more personal. So, where are you in that hierarchy? Let’s assume for a minute that you have just sold your business, or come into money beyond your current needs….

Coach 120
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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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Silicon Beach Report Nov. 5: Analyzing Local Election Spending

L.A. Business Journal

Musk Shows off hyperloop demo tunnel; Bird fights ban in Beverly Hills; LA spending roughly $13 per voter

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Advancing Women in Technology (AWT) 17th Annual Wine Tasting and Scholarship Fundraiser

SoCal Tech Calendar

Thursday, November 15, 2018 --.

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How to get to the polls for free at the 2018 midterm elections

TechCrunch LA

In case you haven’t heard, polls will open Tuesday morning across the U.S. for the 2018 midterm elections. It’s a big deal, so go vote. And this year, there are more free ways to get to the polls than ever before thanks to a variety of non-partisan “get the vote out” campaigns from ride-hailing, bike sharing and scooter companies.

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Car-Share Startup HyreCar Report Q3 Revenue Up 224 Percent to $2.7 M

L.A. Business Journal

HyreCar Inc., a downtown Los Angeles-based company allowing prospective ride-share drivers to temporarily lease vehicles from dealerships, announced Nov. 8 its third-quarter revenue grew 224 percent to $2.7 million over last year.

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brunchwork w/ Warner Music Group and Art Muse

SoCal Tech Calendar

Saturday, November 10, 2018 -- brunchwork w/ Warner Music Group and Art Muse. You're invited to an unforgettable sweetgreen brunch with Aton Ben-Horin, Global Vice President of AandR for Warner Music Group, and ArtMuse founder Natasha Schlesinger. Enjoy a fireside chat with Aton and Natasha, curated connections, a business challenge and pitch off.over a seasonal, locally-sourced meal.

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Mirium Pharmaceuticals Finds $120M

socalTECH

San Diego-based Mirium Pharmaceuticals , which is developing treatments for rare liver diseases, announced on Wednesday morning that it has raised $120M in a Series A funding round. The funding was led by New Enterprise Associates (NEA), and also included Deerfield Management, Frazier Healthcare Partners, Novo Holdings A/S, Pappas Capital, RiverVest Venture Partners and Rock Springs Capital.

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Salk Team Awarded 8-Year, $19.2M Grant for Alzheimer’s Research

Xconomy

A 10-person team of researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies has been awarded an eight-year, $19.2 million grant to investigate mechanisms underlying Alzheimer’s disease and aging-related cognitive decline and uncover new therapies. The grant, announced Friday by the research institute in San Diego’s La Jolla community, is part of a $43 million initiative by the American Heart Association and the Paul G.

Research 101
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ZipRecruiter Adds Former Facebook, Linkedin Executives to Board

L.A. Business Journal

Online hiring and job-search platform ZipRecruiter Inc., based in Santa Monica, announced three new additions to its board of directors Nov. 8, including former executives of Facebook Inc., the San Francisco 49ers and GoDaddy Inc.

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GetGlobal 2018 - Thrive in Foreign Markets

SoCal Tech Calendar

Wednesday, November 7, 2018 -- GetGlobal 2018 - Thrive in Foreign Markets. GetGlobal is the largest summit in North America for international expansion, strategy, and key foreign market dynamics. It is curated exclusively for growth-minded companies seeking to outperform across regions, to see clearly and go boldly. At GetGlobal you will meet with the leading executives, experts, and specialists with unique insights into what drives global success so that you can thrive in foreign markets.

Marketing 100
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SpaceX Seeks $750M In Debt Funding

socalTECH

Hawthorne, California-based SpaceX , the commercial space exploration firm run by Elon Musk, is looking to raised $750M in a leveraged loan offering, according to a report on Tuesday. The loan effort is being led by BofA Merrill Lynch. The debt funding effort is apparently the company's first time it has attempted to tap into the institutional debt market.

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Bio Roundup: Midterm Fallout, Alzheimer’s Search, Postpartum Panel

Xconomy

There was plenty at stake in this week’s midterm elections, and not just in terms of political wins and losses. With congress now divided—Democrats took back control of the House and Republicans extended their majority in the Senate—the implications are significant for U.S. healthcare. Just a day after the results, for instance, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said the GOP would abandon its long-running quest to sink the Affordable Care Act.

News 101
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Silicon Beach Report Nov. 6: J2 Global Revenue Up $293 Million

L.A. Business Journal

Sinemia goes for the weekday movie fan, AMC jumps into the subscription business; J2 Global reports revenue growth, Bird launches (tentatively) in United Kingdom.

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Pitch Genius Workshop

SoCal Tech Calendar

Saturday, November 10, 2018 -- Pitch Genius Workshop. The purpose of this workshop is to educate idea-to-early stage startups about investors, fundraising, and how to make a successful pitch.

Education 100
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RingDNA Adds $30M For Sales Analytics

socalTECH

Los Angeles-based RingDNA , which develops analytics software used for understanding the sales process and sales conversations, said last week that it raised $30M in a growth capital funding. The funding was led by Goldman Sachs Growth Equity (GS Growth), and also included Palisades Growth Capital and Bryant Stibel. RingDNA, led by founder and CEO Howard Brown, says it is using artificial intelligence for enterprise sales acceleration and voice automation, and now counts such customers as Hewlet

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8 Ways To Ensure Team Accountability In Your Startup

Startup Professionals Musings

Maybe it’s just me, but I sometimes feel that accountability is a rare talent in business today. In big businesses, people are quick to defer with “that’s not my department,” and even startup founders too often blame failures on the economy or the lack of investors. As an investor and advisor to entrepreneurs, I see accountability, or lack of it, as an override to even the best idea.

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Silicon Beach Report Nov. 8: Cornerstone Acquires Grovo Learning for $24M

L.A. Business Journal

Branson and Lloyd replaced at Virgin Hyperloop; Defy Media Folds; Grovo Learning acquired by Cornerstone OnDemand

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Santa Monica Tech Happy Hour on the Promenade!

SoCal Tech Calendar

Wednesday, November 7, 2018 -- Santa Monica Tech Happy Hour on the Promenade! Join L.A.'s best tech and startup networking series for a special event in Santa Monica!

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sonnen Teams With Homebuilder On Net Zero Homes In Florida

socalTECH

Los Angeles-based residential energy storage technology developer sonnen said on Thursday that it has partnered with home developer Pearl Homes to build a "net zero" community in Florida. According to the companies, they are building a community called "Hunters Point - Pearl Homes Community and Marina" which will include LEED Platinum certifications, which will be equipped with rooftop solar panels, sonnen's energy storage systems, a smart thermostats, an EV charger, plus Google Home, in what wi

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Hold Your Horsepower: For Mobility Industry, “Reality Is Sinking In”

Xconomy

Earlier this month, GM CEO Mary Barra told the crowd at a financial conference that her company was on track to unveil a ridesharing service in 2019 that would be powered by autonomous vehicles. It sounded like pretty big news, but to understand company announcements about the commercial viability of driverless cars, one must first parse the semantics.

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Silicon Beach Report Nov. 7: Riot Games Sued

L.A. Business Journal

Sexual harassment suit filed against Riot Games; SpaceX chosen for Kazakh rocket launch; HyreCar goes national

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Boost Your New Venture By Teaming With An Incubator

Startup Professionals Musings

One of the reasons that now is the time to be an entrepreneur is the explosion of startup assistance organizations, usually called incubators or accelerators. According to the International Business Innovation Association ( InBIA ), there are over 2,200 of these locations worldwide, and new online versions springing up all over the place, like Founders Space in Silicon Valley.

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Elon Musk: Boring Company Tunnel Will Open December 10th

socalTECH

The first, high tech test tunnel built by LA's The Boring Company , bored between the SpaceX parking lot and a home in Hawthorne, California, is almost complete, and will open to the public on December 10th, according to Boring Company and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk. The tunnel--which is designed to show off the technology to send people underneath Los Angeles at speeds up to 155 mph, to address the traffic and congestion inherent in road transportation--will reportedly be available to the public for

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ResMed To Add To Software Offerings With $750M MatrixCare Acquisition

Xconomy

Medical device maker ResMed has agreed to acquire Minnesota-based MatrixCare, which makes software for long-term care providers, for $750 million. San Diego’s ResMed (NYSE: ticker[[RMD]]) announced its intention to buy the privately held tech company on Monday. The purchase price is 25 times MatrixCare’s pro forma 2018 earnings of about $30 million (without taking into account interest, taxes, depreciation or amortization) on anticipated net revenue of about $122 million.

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Silicon Beach Report Nov. 9: Activision Blizzard Announces Third Quarter Earnings

L.A. Business Journal

SpaceX requests lower launch threshold; Activision nets $1.

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DTLA Pitch Night

SoCal Tech Calendar

Tuesday, November 13, 2018 -- DTLA Pitch Night. 2nd Annual Startups in the Sky.

Startup 100
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HyreCar Extends Rentals For Ridesharing Drivers Nationwide

socalTECH

Los Angeles-based HyreCar , which operates a marketplace which connects Uber and Lyft ridesharing drivers with dealers and others offering up vehicle rentals, said it is now open in all 50 U.S. states. The company said the expansion is a significant incraese from where it had been, which was at 34 states. The addition adds Delaware, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Arkansas, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Maine, Idaho, South Dakota, Alaska, North Dakota, Vermont, Montana, West Virginia and Wyoming

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Apply Hospitality-Driven Thinking to Your New Venture

Startup Professionals Musings

I just finished a new book by Stephen J. Cloobeck, “ Checking In: Hospitality-Driven Thinking, Business, and You ”. As a self-made entrepreneur and former chairman of Diamond Resorts International, he asserts that the five biggest companies by market value today, Google, Facebook, Microsoft, Amazon, and Apple, aren’t really tech, but hospitality companies.

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Nominations Open for San Diego’s Inaugural Xconomy Awards

Xconomy

Hundreds of companies. Dozens of research institutes. Billions of dollars in economic impact. San Diego is one of the top U.S. cities for innovation in life sciences and healthtech. Researchers and entrepreneurs here are leaders in developing the next generation of medicines and medical devices. In doing so, they are revealing new insights from our genomes, coming up with new data analytics tools, and applying digital advances to improve health.

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Hollywood Tech Happy Hour -Tech Save America

SoCal Tech Calendar

Tuesday, November 6, 2018 -- Hollywood Tech Happy Hour -Tech Save America.

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Milk and Eggs Raises $6M For Grocery Delivery

socalTECH

Los Angeles-based Milk and Eggs , a new grocery delivery startup which helps connect consumers with farmers and others who will deliver perishable groceries, has raised $6M in a seed funding round, and launched its services. Source of the seed funding was not announced. According to the startup, it is looking to provide people with healthier and fresher food, and also help cut down on unnecessary middlemen, the large amount of food waste, and carbon delivery associated with people driving to the

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8 Keys To Market Delivery Of Innovative Technologies

Startup Professionals Musings

Since I am a techie at heart, I always get excited when founders pitch their new innovation as “disruptive,” meaning that it is so unique that it will create a new market and disrupt the existing value network, displacing established products and markets. Unfortunately, I have learned that investors and customers are wary that big changes will take a long time, and cost more money.

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Broadcom to Sell Veracode for $950M After $19B CA Technologies Deal

Xconomy

Broadcom is selling application security testing business Veracode for $950 million to private equity firm Thoma Bravo. Broadcom gained Veracode as a part of its blockbuster acquisition of CA Technologies. Broadcom (NASDAQ: AVGO ) announced in June it would acquire CA Technologies (NASDAQ: CA ) for $18.9 billion, and announced today it has completed that deal.