Sat.Jun 22, 2019 - Fri.Jun 28, 2019

article thumbnail

Acutus, Maker of Next-Gen Electrophysiology Tech, Adds $100M Series D

Xconomy

A company that makes a mapping system to help doctors see high-resolution, 3D images of irregular heart rhythms in real time has raised $100 million in venture investment and a $70 million credit facility to fund its full-scale market launch. Acutus Medical, based in the northern San Diego community of Carlsbad, was founded in 2011. The company’s flagship product, dubbed AcQMap, uses ultrasound to allow physicians to see what is causing a patient’s irregular heartbeat, also known as an arrhythmi

article thumbnail

Songtrust adds another 55,000 artists to its rights management service

TechCrunch LA

Over the past year, Songtrust has added another 55,000 artists and songwriters to its rights management service. The company, a subsidiary of Downtown Music, a publishing and rights management firm that manages rights for artists such as John Lennon, One Direction and Santigold, now has 205,000 artists on its roster and has 2 million songs it tracks.

Services 184
Insiders

Sign Up for our Newsletter

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

article thumbnail

Video Interview: Nasam Chokr, NOWA Innovations, On Improving Asthma Inhalers

socalTECH

NOWA Innovations (www.nowainnovations.com), a University of California, Irvine spinout, is designing a medical device aimed at improving asthma inhalers. For our video interview today, we spoke with Nasam Chokr, the founder and CEO of NOWA Innovations, about the startup and its technology. NOWA Innovations was one of the startups at the First Look 2019 Startup Showcase last week in Pasadena.

Pasadena 124
article thumbnail

Insight Acquires PCM for $581M in Cash and Debt

L.A. Business Journal

El Segundo-based information technology services firm PCM Inc. will be acquired by Tempe, Ariz.-based Insight Enterprises Inc. in a deal worth roughly $581 million.

article thumbnail

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.

article thumbnail

Do you take those loyal, key customers for granted?

Berkonomics

OK. We know that an executive’s job is not easy. Nor is there much time in a typical day for outreach of any kind. Especially in your growing company, you are drawn into daily process issues by all of your direct reports, often responding to questions and problems, leaving little time for strategic thought. That’s bad behavior! And that behavior results in leaving little time for outreach to the most critical component in your chain – your key customers.

Customer 120
article thumbnail

Review: Inside the House of Lies at Theranos

Xconomy

Youth. Charm. Fearlessness. Ruthless focus. These can be positive attributes in an entrepreneur, but in a more rational world, technology investors wouldn’t overvalue them. Risk capital would be allocated based mostly on evidence, data, progress towards milestones—in short, on proof. In the real world, of course, proof is hard to come by. Hope, avarice, or fear of missing out often drive investors to plunge ahead.

More Trending

article thumbnail

Faraday Future Lays Off Furloughed Employees

L.A. Business Journal

Gardena-based electric vehicle maker Faraday & Future Inc. fired several employees it had previously placed on unpaid leave in December, citing lack of funds to pay salaries.

Gardena 133
article thumbnail

5 Keys To Business Culture That Are Counter-Intuitive

Startup Professionals Musings

In the popular press, it’s easy to find articles that will convince you that companies with a good culture, such as Google, do it by lavishing perks and benefits , including some combination of free meals, trips and parties, financial bonuses, gyms, and a dog-friendly environment. These things are clearly good for morale, but its not so clear that they translate into a competitive advantage.

article thumbnail

Encoded Nabs $104M, Illumina’s Help, to Push Gene Therapy’s Limits

Xconomy

Despite the progress of gene therapy—a cutting edge medicine promising long-lasting effects from a single treatment—it remains a crude and limited tool. Startup Encoded Therapeutics has raised $104 million to join the race to expand gene therapy’s reach. The South San Francisco, CA, company has emerged from the startup accelerator of Illumina (NASDAQ: ILMN ), and it counts the DNA sequencing giant among its investors along with Arch Venture Partners, Venrock, and others.

Help 105
article thumbnail

Virgin Hyperloop One In Design Link With St. Louis School

socalTECH

Los Angeles-based Virgin Hyperloop One , which is developing futuristic transportation technology, says it has linked up with the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts at Washington University in St. Louis. According to Virgin Hyperloop One, the two will create a "Master of Architecture (MArch) studio" to map out the "social, political and physical context of the state" and to and explore "elegant hyperloop infrastructure proposals" for Missouri.

Design 149
article thumbnail

Riot Games Responds to DFEH Investigation

L.A. Business Journal

West Los Angeles-based game developer Riot Games Inc. responded today to a June 12 announcement from the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing that it was opening an investigation into the company's management practices.

article thumbnail

5 Reality Checks On Running A Charitable Organization

Startup Professionals Musings

A common misconception I often hear in the startup world is that non-profits are easy and safe, since they don’t have to pay taxes, and they don’t have to make a profit for their shareholders. In reality, from the feedback I get from non-profit executives, exactly the opposite is true. Technically speaking, in the United States, a non-profit corporation or association is one which has been exempted from Federal income taxes by meeting the criteria set out Section 501(c) of the Internal Revenue C

article thumbnail

Dems and GOP Senators Unite Versus Big Tech on Data Privacy Bills

Xconomy

To hear some people talk, you’d think the age of bipartisan action in Congress was a lost phenomenon of the distant past. But it’s not so, at least when it comes to certain issues. And no one knows it better than the big Silicon Valley tech companies that are the recent targets of proposed bipartisan bills. Sen. Mark Warner, a Virginia Democrat, joined today with a Missouri Republican, Sen.

Google 84
article thumbnail

Restaurant365 Finds $88M In Funding

socalTECH

Irvine-based Restaurant365 , a developer of cloud-based accounting software specifically aimed at the restaurant industry, has raised $88M in a Series C funding round, the company said this week. The funding was led by ICONIQ Capital, and also included Tiger Global Management and Bessemer Venture Partners. As part of the funding, ICONIQ Partner Will Griffith has joined the company's board of directors.

Funding 138
article thumbnail

Podcast Network Wondery Raises $10 Million Round Led By Waverley Capital

L.A. Business Journal

Wondery, the podcast network that produced Los Angeles Times’ “Man in the Window” and “Dirty John,” will use Series B funds to acquire new and original content, invest in technology.

article thumbnail

Chief Financial Officer and Human Resources Professionals Awards

SoCal Tech Calendar

Sunday, June 30, 2019 --.

Resource 100
article thumbnail

Degreed Raises $75M to Expand in Growing Workforce Training Sector

Xconomy

Degreed , which helps businesses upgrade the skills of their staffers through an online gateway to learning resources, announced Thursday it has raised $75 million to grow the service and expand internationally. San Francisco-based Degreed is among the educational technology companies now classified as “learning experience platforms,’’ because they organize staff participation in skills development training and coordinate it with the goals of employers, who are their clients.

article thumbnail

CapLinked Launches Blockchain Auditing Product, TransitNet

socalTECH

Los Angeles-based software developer CapLinked , which is led by Eric M. Jackson, has launched a new product for helping companies in the blockchain and cryptocurrency area. According to CapLinked, the new product, TransitNet is a new software product to manage title verification, financial reporting, and corporate governance for blockchain-based securities and digital assets.

Product 133
article thumbnail

Silicon Beach Report June 27: Disney Launches Incubator; Faraday Future Fires Furloughed Workers; AEG Links with Lyft

L.A. Business Journal

Silicon Beach Report June 27: Disney Launches Incubator; Faraday Future Fires Furloughed Workers; AEG Links with Lyft

Incubator 100
article thumbnail

Connected Classroom Technology and Essentials for K-12 School Districts

Southern California Edison Blog

Connected classrooms are part of a rapid trend to leverage technology to bring learning into a more national and global sphere. Instead of interacting only with their peers sitting next to them, connect classroom technology enables students to reach out to their peers around the country or world, broadening their access to both people and information.

article thumbnail

AbbVie to Pay $63B for Allergan to Prepare for Life Without Humira

Xconomy

Pharmaceutical giant AbbVie this morning agreed to acquire Allergan in a $63 billion deal meant to provide the pharmaceutical giant with enough revenue to brace for the loss of patent protection for the world’s top-selling drug. AbbVie (NYSE: ABBV ) will pay $188.24 per share in cash and stock for Allergan (NYSE: AGN ) and its portfolio of aesthetic treatments such as Botox and eye drugs like Restasis.

Patents 82
article thumbnail

Lovell Minnick Partners Backs oneZero Financial Systems

socalTECH

Private equity investor Lovell Minnick Partners , which has offices in Los Angeles, has made a "significant" investment in oneZero Financial Systems , the firm said on Tuesday morning. Financial details of the minority investment in oneZero Financial Systems were not announced. onZero provides software and technology to the foreign exchange (FX) trading industry.

Equity 124
article thumbnail

Silicon Beach Report June 25: Falcon Heavy Launches 24 Payloads Successfully

L.A. Business Journal

Retina launches AI for ecommerce; Quibi plans more content; Falcon Heavy launch goes (mostly) as planned

Report 100
article thumbnail

9 Keys To Effective Communication In Today’s Business

Startup Professionals Musings

When was the last time you changed how you communicate to your team and to your customers? The way you deliver your message is key to maximizing its impact, or even reaching the intended audience. Don’t count on people reading your Annual Report for breaking news. Your team needs to hear from you on a regular basis, on a channel they can relate to easily and quickly.

article thumbnail

As Cities Ban Face Recognition, Body-Cam Firm Axon Also Nixes It

Xconomy

This week’s decision by police equipment manufacturer Axon to forego using facial recognition software in its body cameras follows a string of other actions against the use of face-matching technology by public agencies. They include a pioneering ban in San Francisco last month, and another passed Thursday by the city council of Somerville, MA. What makes Axon’s new limit to law enforcement’s access to facial recognition tools unusual is that the decision was made by a private technology company

Tool 79
article thumbnail

HG Insights Ties With LinkedIn

socalTECH

Santa Barbara-based HG Insights , which provides analytics around technology installs, IT spend, and contracts, says it has tied with LinkedIn with a new product, HG for LinkedIn. According to the company, it has integrated with LinkedIn's Matched Audiences API, which will help marketers target prospective customers and increase response rates with more relevant advertising on the LinkedIn platform.

article thumbnail

Silicon Beach Report June 28: SpaceX Raising $300 Million

L.A. Business Journal

PCM security breached; Marvel and Team Liquid partner; SpaceX starts third fundraising effort this year

SpaceX 100
article thumbnail

5 Keys To Growing What You Have Planted As A Startup

Startup Professionals Musings

Have you noticed that more companies beg you to participate in their business today? It started with an email survey on your last stay at their hotel, but now includes requests for online product reviews, to social media input on the design of future products. They do it because engaged customers become loyal advocates and buyers. Welcome to the “Participation Age” of marketing.

Startup 98
article thumbnail

Conatus to Slash Staff, Consider Sale After NASH Trial Failures

Xconomy

Conatus Pharmaceuticals said Monday that it would cut its staff by 40 percent and consider a sale or merger after a drug it was testing as a treatment for an increasingly common form of chronic liver disease failed to beat a placebo in a mid-stage clinical trial—the latest letdown in a number of trial failures. The company is one among many racing to develop a treatment for nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), a fatty liver disease whose incidence has risen along with obesity, especially i

Sales 70
article thumbnail

Study: Tinder, Snapchat Users More Accepting Of Cosmetic Surgery

socalTECH

Users of social media applications such as Tinder and Snapchat are far more willing to consider cosmetic surgery--a side effect of the popularity of "filters" on those apps--according to a new report from the JAMA Facial Plastic Surgery journal. According to the study, there is an "increased consideration of cosmetic surgery" from users of social media platforms, and specifically those who had used specific applications, such as YouTube, Tinder, and Snapchat photograph filters.

Snapchat 113
article thumbnail

Silicon Beach Report June 24: Insight Acquires PCM

L.A. Business Journal

SpaceX launches Falcon Heavy rocket; Virgin Hyperloop works with WashU in St.

SpaceX 100
article thumbnail

6 Clues To The Right Employees For Your New Venture

Startup Professionals Musings

Entrepreneurs are usually highly creative and innovative, but many innovative people are not entrepreneurs. Since it takes a team of people to build a great company, the challenge is to find that small percentage of innovative people, and then nurture the tendency, rather than stifle it. A few years ago I read a classic book “ The Rudolph Factor ,” by Cyndi Laurin and Craig Morningstar, which is all about finding the bright lights that can drive innovation in your business.

Mentor 101
article thumbnail

Led by Tech, Healthcare Debuts, IPOs in 2019 Show Positive Returns

Xconomy

Even as Uber, Lyft, and other high-profile initial public offerings underperformed out of the gate, the average share price of companies that have gone public in the US this year is up by almost 33 percent. That’s according to data based on the mean returns of issuers that started trading through June 19, released by accounting firm Ernst & Young (EY) on Tuesday.

Startup 69
article thumbnail

Hulu Crashes During Democratic Debate

socalTECH

In a black eye for Los Angeles-based online television streaming service Hulu , the service apparently crashed during the Democratic debates on Thursday night, going down for more than an hour. Apparently, the service got stuck showing commercials and put up error messages to users attempting to watch Hulu's live TV service to watch the debates, on NBC and other channels.

Hulu 113
article thumbnail

Insights: How to Build Your Innovation Community

socalTECH

For our Insights and Opinions section today, where we share contributed articles from the Southern California technology community, we have Eric Eide , of the Alliance for SoCal Innovation , a nonprofit that recently has been working on trying to help support the local entrepreneurial community across the region. Eric was most recently on the Government Relations team at startup electric scooter rental company Bird.

article thumbnail

Video Interview: Evan Brandt, VideOMS

socalTECH

For our Friday video interview, we have Evan Brandt , the CEO of VideOMS (www.videoms.com), an early, seed stage startup offering up a videos, drone shots, photography, and more of real estate property listings nationwide, through a network of drone operators. VideOMS is based in Westlake Village, California. READ MORE>>.