TechCrunch LA

OCTOBER 21, 2021

Netflix employees staged a walkout yesterday in response to the company’s handling of a Dave Chappelle special that premiered on October 5. At the same time, Los Angeles-based trans activist Ashlee Marie Preston hosted a rally in solidarity with Netflix workers participating in the walkout. Netflix stars like Jonathan Van Ness of “Queer Eye” and Mason Alexander Park of “Cowboy Bebop” and “The Sandman” expressed their solidarity in a video made for the ra

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L.A. Business Journal

OCTOBER 19, 2021

Pasadena startup CarbonCapture Inc. secured $35 million in Series A financing and named veteran cleantech industry executive Adrian Corless chief executive.

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socalTECH

OCTOBER 20, 2021

Los Angeles-based Snap said on Tuesday that it is launching a new, augmented reality advertising studio, which it is calling Arcadia. The new studio--which is not based in Arcadia, California, despite the name--will provide a team of experts focused on mobile augmented reality (AR) advertising for its brand and agency partners. According to Snap, Arcadia will "take on select projects that require the most creative and technical skillset" to provide branded AR experiences.

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Berkonomics

OCTOBER 21, 2021

We’ve debated this one forever it seems. Should be overwhelm prospective employees with stock options and perks? Or concentrate our available resources on just plain money as an attraction? Well, here are rules to make money work for you in recruiting AND to better control its use after you’ve hired your candidate(s). Some obvious qualifiers. Salaries or hourly wages must be within reasonable limits set by the industry and matched by the competition, both regionally and for the same job clas

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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.

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TechCrunch LA

OCTOBER 19, 2021

When you move around a city, you often end up farther away from some of your favorite restaurants and bakeries. Locale wants to keep you connected to the food you love, even if you live hours away now. Locale, based in San Francisco, enables customers to order from dozens of businesses, including bakeries and restaurants, and get them delivered in one box for just a $5 delivery fee.

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L.A. Business Journal

OCTOBER 18, 2021

It’s been a rough and perplexing six weeks for shareholders of downtown-based water infrastructure development company Cadiz Inc.

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Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 22, 2021

Many aspiring entrepreneurs are looking to the Internet as an opportunity to get rich quick, instead of a place where you can start a business you love, for very little capital and minimal technical expertise. The reality is that if you build a business you love, you may in fact make big money, but if you start a business to get rich, you will probably fail.

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L.A. Business Journal

OCTOBER 18, 2021

Tatyana Dyshlova and Max Spielberg loved working side by side at Redwood City-based gaming giant Electronic Arts Inc.

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L.A. Business Journal

OCTOBER 18, 2021

Less than a month after sending four civilians on a historic three-day journey around the Earth, Space Exploration Technologies Corp. reached another milestone: a valuation of more than $100 billion.

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L.A. Business Journal

OCTOBER 18, 2021

Long Beach-based Rocket Lab USA Inc. has scheduled two dedicated launches for Seattle-based BlackSky Global in November, the company announced Oct. 11.

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L.A. Business Journal

OCTOBER 18, 2021

Brentwood-based independent gaming studio Lucid Sight Inc. raised $2.6 million to launch its cloud-hosting platform for developers.

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socalTECH

OCTOBER 22, 2021

Irvine-based Vizio has been sued over its use of open source software, with a group saying that Vizio should be required to share the source code underlying its televisions, due to their use of General Public License (GPL) software for its Smartcast televisions. The lawsuit was filed on Thursday by the Software Freedom Conservancy (SFC), a nonprofit which supports and defends free software.

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socalTECH

OCTOBER 22, 2021

Los Angeles-based video and music social app developer Triller is launching a new effort in the music area, saying it's launching a new music discovery program called Spring Singles. According to the company, the new program releases singles from new artists every two weeks. The company said the new effort is being spearheaded by Steve Rifkind, the founder of Spring Sound, who is known for his work with Rap and Hip Hop stars.

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socalTECH

OCTOBER 22, 2021

Los Angeles-based ChowNow, which develops software to manage online ordering and marketing for restaurants, has named a new CFO. According to ChowNow, it has appointed Andre Mancl to the position of Chief Financial Officer. Mancl was previously an investment banker, having previously been at Credit Suisse, where he served as the Global co-head of Internet Investment Banking.

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socalTECH

OCTOBER 22, 2021

Los Angeles-based media measurement and optimization software developer VideoAmp has raised $275M in funding, giving it a $1.4 billion valuation, the company said onn Thursday. The funding included The Spruce House Partnership, D1 Capital Partners, Tiger Global, EPIQ Capital Group and Ankona Capital Partners. VideoAmp is led by founder and CEO Ross McCray.

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socalTECH

OCTOBER 22, 2021

Irvine-based Alteryx, which develops analytics software, said this morning that it has acquired Lore IO, a developer of a no-code, artificial intelligence-enabled data modeling software. Financial details of the acquisition were not announced. Alteryx said that Lore IO was founded by veterans of Walmart Labs. Alteryx said the acquisition will help it add a team with skills for cloud-native analytic compute optimization and in-database processing.

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socalTECH

OCTOBER 21, 2021

Los Angeles-based food service robot developer Miso Robotics announced this morning that it has rolled out a new product line, called Flippy Wings, which automatically fries chicken wings. The company said the new "robotic chicken wing frying solution" was specifically designed for partner Inspire Brands, which owns Buffalo Wild Wings. According to Miso Robotics, Buffalo Wild Wings began testing its new products this fall; it's unclear if or when the wing chain will roll out the product, however

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socalTECH

OCTOBER 21, 2021

Culver City-based Embrace, a new startup focused on helping companies manage the mobile data they are collecting, has raised $45M in a funding round. According to the company, the Series B funding was led by New Enterprise Associates (NEA), and also included Greycroft, AV8, and Eniac. The company says its founders previously had been involved with PagerDuty, Sendbird, LogDNA, Scopely, and TestFlight.

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socalTECH

OCTOBER 21, 2021

Encinitas-based Flock Freight, a startup which operates a system for the freight shipping and trucking industry to allow for shared truckloads, has raised $215M in a Series D funding round. The company said the funding gives it a more than $1 billion valuation. The funding was led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2, and also included Susquehanna Private Equity Investments, Eden Global Partners, and existing investors SignalFire, GLP Capital Partners, and GV (formerly Google Ventures).

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socalTECH

OCTOBER 20, 2021

Pasadena-based Carbon Capture, a new startup which says it is developing machines that remove CO2 directly from the atmosphere, has raised $35M in a Series A funding round. the funding came from Prime Movers Lab, Rio Tinto, Idealab Studio, and Marc Benioff's TIME Ventures, along with others. The company said it has named Adrian Corless as CEO of the company as part of the funding.

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socalTECH

OCTOBER 20, 2021

A new, early-stage venture firm, Patron--which has one of its General Partners based in Los Angeles--said on Tuesday that it has raised $90M in a new venture capital fund. According to Patron, its first fund, Patron Fund I, will go to investments into Web 3 (P2E/NFTs) and consumer categories such as education, fitness, personal finance, and more. The company's General Partners are Jason Yeh and Brian Cho.

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socalTECH

OCTOBER 19, 2021

San Diego-based nonprofit software developer Classy announced on Tuesday that it is acquiring event platform Fondi, the developer of a virtual and hybrid event platform. Financial details of the acquisition were not announced. Classy said it will relaunch Fondi as Classy Live for nonprofits. Fondi was previously owned by Lennd. Classy--which recently raised $118M in a Series D funding--said the move is part of its investors to invest in customer-forward product development and acquiring technolo

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socalTECH

OCTOBER 19, 2021

Los Angeles-based mobile games developer Scopely said on Monday that it is paying approximately $1 billion for GSN Games, the division of Game Show Network owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment. GSN Games owns a portfolio of free-to-play mobile and online games, and is best known for such titles as "Solitaire TriPeaks" and "Bingo Bash". According to Scopely, the deal is split between both cash and equity in the company, which will give SPE a minority interest in the company.

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socalTECH

OCTOBER 19, 2021

El Segundo-based EV Connect, which operates a network of electric vehicle charging stations, says it has rolled out an application programming interface (API), which allows its customers to integrate into its network. According to the company, the API allows charging providers to develop customized EV networks as well as smart charging and eMobility applications.

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socalTECH

OCTOBER 19, 2021

An original, wood paneled Apple-1 computer -- originally owned by a professor at Chaffey College in Rancho Cucamonga -- is going up for auction, according to a local auction house, John Moran Auctioneers. According to the auction company, the "Chaffey College Apple-1" is estimated at $400,000 to $600,000. The auction company said the computer--which is now owned by a student of the professor who originally purchased the Apple-1--was purchased in 1977 by the student for $650 when the professor up

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socalTECH

OCTOBER 19, 2021

A new, Santa Monica-based venture fund, UP.Partners, said on Monday afternoon that it has raised a $230M, early stage venture capital fund focused on transportation and logistics. According to the fund, it is backed by Alaska Air Group, ARK Invest Founder and CEO Cathie Wood, Toyota subsidiary Woven Capital, Hillwood, a Perot Company; and ship management company OSM Maritime.

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socalTECH

OCTOBER 18, 2021

San Diego-based Neurelis, a developer of therapeutics for the treatment of epilepsy and orphan neurologic disorders, says it has named a new CFO, among other executive moves. According to the company, it has named Brittany K. Bradrick as the company's new cFO. Bradrick previously was COO and CFO at ViaCyte, and also served at Insulet and Abbott Diabetes Care, in addition to serving as an investment banker to the life science industry for 10 years at Piper Jaffray, Credit Suisse and Chase Securit

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socalTECH

OCTOBER 18, 2021

Glendale-based Phonexa, a developer of marketing automation software, says it has named a new CEO. According to the company, Lilit Davtyan has been appointed as CEO, taking over for president David Gasparyan. Davtyan was previously EVP and CFO of the company. According to the company, she will now serve as CEO and CFO. Gasparyan will continue to be involved in day-to-day operations.

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socalTECH

OCTOBER 18, 2021

Los Angeles-based on-demand livestreaming and podcasting company LiveOne--which until recently was known as LiveXLive Media--says it has acquired Gramophone Media, a New York-based artist and brand development company. LiveOne says that Gramophone Media owns a number of boutique agencies, which specializes in representing aspiring artists and offering services in PR, strategic marketing, brand positioning, graphic design, and social media management.

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socalTECH

OCTOBER 18, 2021

Los Angeles-based fintech startup Dave.com said this morning that its job finding service, SideHustle, has facilitated nearly 3 million job applications since its launch in September of 2020. Dave--which offers up a debit card and spending account--says its Sidehustle platform ocnnects users to work opportunities across the United States. Dave is led by co-founder and CEO Jason Wilk.

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socalTECH

OCTOBER 18, 2021

San Bernardino-based Amazon says it is in the midst of a big hiring push in California, where it hopes to hire 23,000 for its warehouses. According to Amazon, those short term position pay an average of $18 per hour, with sign-up bonuses of up to $3,000 and an additional $3 per hour depending on shift. Amazon said those seasonal jobs include helping in stowing, picking, packing, shipping and more.

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Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 18, 2021

Most entrepreneurs I know are individually very innovative, but a successful startup can’t be a one-man show (for long). That means they need to build an innovative team, which is not a skill that most people are born with. In fact, some very innovative individuals, known as ‘idea people’ or inventors, often end up creating the most dysfunctional teams.

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Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 17, 2021

At some point in their life, hopefully everyone strives to be the best in their chosen profession. Most people think that being the best requires more intelligence, more training, and more experience. In reality, in business or even in sports, the evidence is conclusive that it is as much about how you think, as what you do. I saw this illustrated a while back in the classic sports book, “ Training Camp: What the Best Do Better Than Everyone Else ”, by Jon Gordon.

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socalTECH

OCTOBER 21, 2021

El Segundo-based semiconductor developer Navitas Semiconductor has debuted on the Nasdaq Global Market, after its acquisition by a Special Purpose Acquisition Company (SPAC), the company said on Wednesday afternoon. The developer of gallium nitride (GaN) power semiconductors says it is now trading under the ticker NVTS. The company's move to the Nasdaq comes thanks to the deal with "blank check" acquisition company Live Oak Acquisition Corp.

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socalTECH

OCTOBER 19, 2021

Aliso Viejo-based Metagenics, a provider of health supplements distributed through healthcare providers, has been acquired by private equity investor Grophon Investors. Financial details of the deal were not announced. Metagenics was previously owned by Alticor Inc. Metagenics was founded in 1983, and offers up. "nutritional solutions recommended by healthcare professionals".

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Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 20, 2021

As I “grew up” in business in big companies, including IBM, I always wondered why the real innovations seemed to come from startups, while we had more resources and more experience. Later, in my second career as an entrepreneur with startups, I realized that limited resources and fresh insights actually created the mindset that relied on market change and innovation to survive.

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