TechCrunch LA

DECEMBER 10, 2020

Swell Energy , an installer and manager of residential renewable energy, energy efficiency and storage technologies, is raising $450 million to finance the construction of four virtual power plants representing a massive amount of energy storage capacity paired with solar power generation. It’s a sign of the distributed nature of renewable energy development and a transition from large-scale power generation projects feeding into utility grids at their edge to smaller, point solutions dist

Develop 322

Develop Development Los Angeles Custom 322

L.A. Business Journal

DECEMBER 7, 2020

It’s been a tough year for Los Angeles comedians, along with the many would-be comedy fans who've had to postpone evenings at live venues shuttered during the pandemic.

Los Angeles 264

Los Angeles Angel 264

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 9, 2020

Most entrepreneurs are so overwhelmed by the day-to-day challenges of their business that they rarely take the time to work on longer-term strategy (they work in the business versus on the business). As a result, strategy decisions are made in the same ad-hoc crises style as operational decisions, and the business suffers. Gut reactions are rarely the optimal solution to any problem.

Framework 152

Framework Entrepreneur Startup Examples 152

socalTECH

DECEMBER 7, 2020

Newport Beach-based PrimaHealth Credit , a new fintech startup, says it has launched a new financing product, aimed at providing financing for credit-challenged patients seeking elective healthcare treatment. The company said its product is a "Buy Now Pay Later" payment plan, aimed at use for financing dental, orthodontics, LASIK, and cataract surgery.

Product 133

Product Startup Company Companies 133

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.

Company

TechCrunch LA

DECEMBER 8, 2020

SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk said Tuesday that he has moved to Texas, confirming months of speculation that the billionaire would leave California, a state of which he has become increasingly critical. Musk confirmed the move during an interview at the The Wall Street Journal’s CEO Council annual summit. His remarks confirmed a CNBC report that Musk had told friends of his intent to move to Texas.

SpaceX 293

SpaceX Technical Review Hawthorne Los Angeles 293

L.A. Business Journal

DECEMBER 9, 2020

Southern California Edison has signed long-term contracts for four projects totaling 590 megawatts of battery energy storage.

Southern California 235

Southern California 235

socalTECH

DECEMBER 11, 2020

Santa Monica-based Snap , the parent company of Snapchat , said Friday that it has named Liz Jenkins, the Chief Financial Officer of Hello Sunshine, to its board of directors. Jenkins has been CFO at Hello Sunshine since August of 2018, and previously was Head of Strategic Ventures at PlayStation. The company said Jenkins will also serve on its audit committee.

Santa Monica 113

Santa Monica Snapchat Company Companies 113

TechCrunch LA

DECEMBER 8, 2020

Cybersecurity insurance startup At-Bay has raised $34 million in its Series C round, the company announced Tuesday. The round was led by Qumra Capital, a new investor. Microsoft’s venture fund M12, also a new investor, participated in the round alongside Acrew Capital, Khosla Ventures, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Munich Re Ventures, and Israeli entrepreneur Shlomo Kramer, who co-founded security firms Check Point and Imperva.

Startup 288

Startup Demand Los Angeles Customer 288

L.A. Business Journal

DECEMBER 9, 2020

Santa Monica real estate software developer HomeLister Inc. has raised $4.5 million in seed funding.

Santa Monica 246

Santa Monica Seed Funding Platform Software Development 246

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 6, 2020

With all the uncertainty in the world today, its hard for any business owner or entrepreneur to stay positive. Based on my experience and a business advisor and mentor, this is the ideal time to get back to the basics of business leadership and innovation. There is no magic formula, but I’m certain one of the keys is to build and maintain a positive team culture, despite all the unknowns.

Mentor 122

Mentor Ideas Competition Examples 122

socalTECH

DECEMBER 11, 2020

Irvine-based CG Oncology , a biopharmaceuticals company which focuses on cancer therapy, said that it has raised $47M in a Series D financing round. The funding was led by Kissei Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.,and also included ORI Healthcare Fund, Camford Capital and Perseverance Capital Management. The company said the funding goes towards its lead oncolytic immunotherapy candidate, which is aimed at treating bladder cancer.

Capital 113

Capital Funding Company Companies 113

TechCrunch LA

DECEMBER 8, 2020

Opendoor has opened the door, so to speak, for startups to apply their technical expertise in search, marketplaces and audience segmentation to rethink the very antiquated and analogue world of property. Today, a startup that is doing this in the specific area of distressed property is announcing a round of growth funding to ramp up its team and expand its business.

Sales 282

Sales Demand San Diego Funding 282

L.A. Business Journal

DECEMBER 5, 2020

Santa Monica-based startup Esports One Inc. has raised $4 million in early stage funding to support a fantasy sports platform for competitive video gaming.

Santa Monica 182

Santa Monica Competition Platform Funding 182

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 7, 2020

Every business wants and needs top performers, but most entrepreneurs and executives assume that if they hire and train the smartest and most experienced people, they will get exceptional performance. They forget that top performance is a two-way street, requiring comparable initiative and responsiveness on the part of the leader, as well as contribution from each team member.

Entrepreneur 120

Entrepreneur Coach Satisfaction Resource 120

socalTECH

DECEMBER 11, 2020

San Diego-based Inseego is continuing to roll out its 5G, mobile hotspots internationally, saying this morning that is Inseego 5G MiFi M2000 mobile hotspot is now available in Japan. The product is available from Japan's Grape One Ltd., which is a subsidiary of Sumitomo Corporation. Grape One Ltd. is offering up local 5G for cable television companies throughout Japan.

Mobile 113

Mobile San Diego Product Company 113

SoCal Tech Calendar

DECEMBER 7, 2020

Tuesday, December 8, 2020 -- Air Force Open Topic Process and SBIR Contracts. Learn more about the Air Force Open Topic and SBIR Contracts with the National Security Innovation Network on December 8, 2020. The National Security Innovation Network is hosting a web-based Ask Me Anything on the Air Force Open Topic process and the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program on December 8, 2020, just in time to discuss the 21.1 SBIR cycle.

Research 100

Research Web Networking Funding 100

L.A. Business Journal

DECEMBER 7, 2020

It has been a busy year for Century City-based social media company Triller Inc., and multiple reports suggest that the months ahead could include plans for an initial public offering.

Century City 162

Century City Social Media Report Media 162

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 5, 2020

No matter what people may proclaim, everyone in business is looking to achieve the highest possible level of satisfaction and financial success in their career. For best results, my advice is to think like an entrepreneur, even if you are a corporate employee. According to many studies, entrepreneurs tend to be happier , and over 80 percent of self-made millionaires are entrepreneurs.

Entrepreneur 117

Entrepreneur Sales Custom Customer 117

socalTECH

DECEMBER 11, 2020

Burbank-based The Walt Disney Company says it has reached 137M paid subscriptions across its direct-to-consumer services, including Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+, and says it hopes to reach 300-350M subscriptions to those services by 2024. The company said the growth "shatters previous guidance" on its expected growth of those services. Disney says it now has 11.5 ESPN+ subscribers, 38.8 million Hulu subscribers, and 86.8M Disney+ subscribers.

Services 113

Services Hulu Burbank Company 113

Berkonomics

DECEMBER 10, 2020

Some professional advice . Here’s more advice from professional investors for aspiring entrepreneurs. Each of us has a list of things we look for early on when identifying whether we want to go to the next step in analyzing a plan. Come to think of it, these are good for challenging any business plan. Size of your total available market.

Startup 156

Startup Marketing Email Entrepreneur 156

L.A. Business Journal

DECEMBER 7, 2020

Sawtelle-based esports organizer Play Versus Inc. has taken in $10.5 million in new funding from undisclosed investors, a November Securities and Exchange Commission filing shows.

Organization 130

Organization Funding 130

L.A. Business Journal

DECEMBER 11, 2020

Walt Disney Co.'s video-on-demand platforms have quickly garnered an impressive number of viewers.

Demand 182

Demand Platform 182

L.A. Business Journal

DECEMBER 7, 2020

Manhattan Beach startup Skills Annex Inc. has raised $5 million in seed funding for a newly launched online sports education platform.

Manhattan Beach 130

Manhattan Beach Course Seed Funding Education 130

L.A. Business Journal

DECEMBER 7, 2020

With pandemic-related restrictions in full effect, it’s going to be a tough year for kids hoping for a visit to Santa’s workshop.

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130

L.A. Business Journal

DECEMBER 9, 2020

Santa Monica real estate software developer HomeLister Inc. has raised $4.5 million in seed funding.

Santa Monica 147

Santa Monica Seed Funding Platform Software Development 147

socalTECH

DECEMBER 10, 2020

Newport Beach-based private equity investor L Squared Capital Partners says it has successfully sold one of its portfolio companies, Learners Edge , to another private equity investor, Quad-C Management. Financial details of the sale were not announced. Learners Edge provides professional education products to teachers. L Squared Capital Partners had recapitalized Learners Edge in September of 2016; the private equity investors says it increased the company's revenues by more than 2.5x since tha

Company 113

Company Companies Education Equity 113

socalTECH

DECEMBER 10, 2020

Los Angeles-based Swell Energy , which is developing what it calls "virtual power plants" which combine solar power and battery storage to feed back energy into the grid, says it has raised $450M in a financing vehicle to help deploy its distributed energy storage systems. According to the company, the new financing came in partnership with a fund managed by the Infrastructure and Power strategy of Ares Management Corporation and Aligned Climate Capital.

Los Angeles 113

Los Angeles Capital Funding Help 113

socalTECH

DECEMBER 10, 2020

Los Angeles-based MuckerLab , the startup accelerator which has backed such companies as Honey and ServiceTitan , says it is looking for startups to apply to its accelerator, with the next set of applications due by Thursday, December 31st. The accelerator--which invests between $100K to $200K in its startups via equity--says it has now been operating for 10 years.

Equity 113

Equity Los Angeles Startup Invest 113

socalTECH

DECEMBER 10, 2020

Recover , a company which is producing recycled cotton fiber and cotton fiber blends, says it has received new funding from Los Angeles-based STORY3 Capital. The amount of the funding was not announced. Recover says it develops sustainable recycled cotton, and will use the new funding to scale its operations. The company says it is recovering industrial and pre- and post-consumer cotton waste, and has a 70-year long history in the textile business as a family owned company.

Funding 113

Funding Metrics Los Angeles Capital 113

socalTECH

DECEMBER 10, 2020

San Diego-based pet products retailer Petco has partnered with delivery provider DoorDash , to offer up same day delivery of its products, the company said today. Petco said the same day delivery will be offered through both its website and its app. Petco said the same day delivery service will be available nationwide, and there is no fee or membership required; delivery is free with any eligible purchase over $35.00.

San Diego 113

San Diego Product Services Company 113

socalTECH

DECEMBER 10, 2020

San Diego-based green technology developer Nuvve says that it has demonstrated the use of its technology in an installation in New York, where five school electric school buses have been used to provide power to Con Edison's grid. According to the company, the install of its chargers and platform connected the five, Lion Electric school buses to Con Edison's grid in White Plains, New York.

San Diego 113

San Diego Demand Platform Technology 113

socalTECH

DECEMBER 9, 2020

Hawthorne, California-based rocket developer SpaceX conducted a high-altitude, suborbital flight of its Starship spacecraft on Wednesday, successfully launching the vehicle to high altitudes--but ending with a spectacular explosion of the Starship just as it reached the ground. The test, of Starship serial number 8, was designed to test the performance of the Raptor engines, the aerodynamic entry capabilities, and "landing flip" maneuver for the spacecraft--all of which seemed to work, until the

SpaceX 113

SpaceX Hawthorne Design Sites 113

socalTECH

DECEMBER 9, 2020

The Alliance for SoCal Innovation , a nonprofit looking to help connect Southern California's innovation ecosystem, has partnered with Verizon Media to help launch microsites to connect the local technology community, and grow the ecosystem, Verizon said on Wednesday. According to the two, they have launched an online platform which will allow local community to independently curate, drive, and manage content and relationships in the region, with microsites already being developed for downtown L

Southern California 113

Southern California SoCal Thousand Oaks Media 113

socalTECH

DECEMBER 9, 2020

Virgin Galactic , the commercial space tourism venture backed by Sir Richard Branson, is hoping to launch a powered rocket flight as early as Friday, December 11th, as part of its efforts to begin providing its rides to space to the public. Virgin Galactic said that the flight window opens on Friday, pending good weather conditions and technical readiness; the company is hoping to test elements of the customer cabin as well as assessing the upgraded horizontal stabilizers and flight controls dur

Customer 113

Customer Custom Develop Development 113

socalTECH

DECEMBER 9, 2020

Los Angeles-based GumGum Sports , which develops artificial intelligence powered software which helps sports team measure advertising being presented in sports coverage of their teams, has rolled out a new analytics module it says streamlines sponsorship analysis and reporting. According to GumGum Sports, the new module was tested in beta by Premier Lacrosse League, Kroenke Sports & Entertainment, Scout Sports and Entertainment and a professional Belgian football team.

Artificial Inteligence 113

Artificial Inteligence Social Media Entertainment Advertising 113

socalTECH

DECEMBER 9, 2020

Simi Valley-based AeroVironment , which develops unmanned aircraft, said on Tuesday that it is acquiring Telerob Gesellschaft fur Fernhantierungstechnik mbH (Telerob), a developer of ground robots. AeroVironment said it will pay approximately $45.4 million in cash, and will pay-off approximately $9.4 million in Telerob's debt at closing. Telerob is known for its development of tracked robotic vehicles, used for explosive ordanance disposal, military, and industrial applications.

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Develop Development Acquisition 113