Sat.Dec 16, 2017 - Fri.Dec 22, 2017

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Passport, the technology business for city transit systems, raises $43 million

TechCrunch LA

Passport, company that's managing much of the technical aspects of how people pay to use public transportation resources in cities like London, Miami and Los Angeles, has just raised $43 million. The money, from Bain Capital Ventures, will go to help the company expand its payment and transaction services nationally and internationally.

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Several more real costs of taking outsider investments.

Berkonomics

Close. Let’s talk about the reality of taking money from professional investors. It is not the first time we’ve covered this general subject nor the last. But this time, we concentrate upon governance changes. Once a company founder has tapped the funds available from his or her resources and from friends and family, if the company needs more cash for growth, the most obvious next step is to look for money from angel investors and venture capitalists, typically in the $300,000 TO $3,000,000 ran

Invest 243
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SpaceX Launches Iridium Satellites Into Space In Stunning Light Show

socalTECH

Hawthorne-based SpaceX successfully launched a payload of ten satellites into space for satellite constellation operator Iridium on Friday evening, from Vandenberg Air Force Base--in a launch which turned heads across the Los Angeles area. SpaceX placed 10 Iridium satellites in the Iridium-4 mission, putting a "flight tested" Falcon 9 into space at 5:27 p.m.

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Silicon Beach Report Dec. 21: Northrop Grumman and Lockheed Martin Win Swarming Cruise Missile Development Contract

L.A. Business Journal

Northrop Grumman and Lockheed Martin win swarming cruise missile development contract; GumGum to exceed $100 million in revenue in 2017; and founder of Timehop left Snap after less than a year.

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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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Passport, the technology business for city transit systems, raises $43 million

TechCrunch LA

Passport, company that’s managing much of the technical aspects of how people pay to use public transportation resources in cities like London, Miami and Los Angeles, has just raised $43 million. The money, from Bain Capital Ventures, will go to help the company expand its payment and transaction services nationally and internationally. Read More.

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Social Media Cyber Threats: 3 Predictions for 2018

Xconomy

1. Ransomware: Social media will be the number one vehicle for ransomware distribution in 2018. Currently, there are nearly 1 million social media accounts compromised every day, and that number will continue to rise, thanks to the plethora of easily identifiable targets. And with new channels comes new costs: the average cost of a ransomware ticket will go up 50 percent next year.

More Trending

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Silicon Beach Report Dec. 22: CNN Cancels Snapchat Show Due to Unclear Path to Profit

L.A. Business Journal

CNN cancels Snapchat show due to unclear path to profit; FabFitFun expands distribution with app for Apple TV and Amazon Fire; and Facebook and Universal Music strike multi-year licensing deal.

Snapchat 113
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6 Reasons Startups Need All Angels Plus Crowd Funding

Startup Professionals Musings

Entrepreneurs who require funding for their startup have long counted on self-accredited high net worth individuals (“angels”) to fill their needs, after friends and family, and before they qualify for institutional investments (“VCs”). The many crowd funding platforms on the Internet, led still by Kickstarter and IndieGoGo , and the latest stages of the Jobs Act , were expected by many to put regular people in charge of funding new opportunities, and kill the need for angel groups.

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Retailers’ Holiday Wishlist? More Sales Powered By New Technologies

Xconomy

From products designed by artificial intelligence to virtual reality systems that help shoppers picture merchandise in their homes, retailers are deploying technology like never before this holiday season, betting that they can win business back from the default of online shopping. These innovations run the gamut, including sensors and cameras that can monitor in-store movements, smart fitting rooms that suggest a blouse or pair of shoes to go with the jeans you’re trying on, and robot sales ass

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Oops: Elon Musk Accidentally Tweets His Phone Number To 16.7 Million Followers

socalTECH

It looks like technology mogul Elon Musk is going to have to get himself a new phone number. Musk accidentally tweeted his phone number to all 16.7 million of his followers on Twitter on Tuesday, which he had meant to send via private message to just John Carmack, the current CTO of Oculus, which is now part of Facebook. Musk quickly deleted the post, but not before his phone number was captured my a great number of his followers.

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Silicon Beach Report Dec. 18: Virgin Hyperloop Raises $50 Million and Names Richard Branson as Chairman

L.A. Business Journal

Virgin Hyperloop raises $50 million and names Richard Branson as chairman, network infrastructure manufacturer acquired and SoftBank looking to invest up to $300 million in Wag.

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The Entrepreneur’s Guide For Dealing With Adversity

Startup Professionals Musings

As a business owner in this age of rapid technological change, with the surge of worldwide competitors, setbacks and adversity are virtually guaranteed. Based on my years of experience mentoring and advising entrepreneurs, you need to attack problems and challenges with a mindset of success, or it is unlikely that you or your business will survive. I found that view confirmed for a wide range of leadership situations in a new book, “ The Mindset of Success ,” by Jo Owen.

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Net Neutrality Repeal Means The Battle Is Just Beginning

Xconomy

From businesses and consumers to politicians and tech industry leaders, the furor over last week’s Federal Communications Commission (FCC) decision to repeal net neutrality can be felt across America. People everywhere are stepping up to show their support for a free and open Internet. In my view, the battle to preserve net neutrality is still very much alive.

.Net 58
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Virgin Hyperloop One Confirms $50M Funding, Branson As Chairman

socalTECH

Los Angeles-based Virgin Hyperloop One confirmed on Monday afternoon that it has raised $50M in new funding, and namd Sir Richard Branson as Chairman of the company. The new funding, a Series C round, came from Caspian Venture Capital and DP World. Virgin Hyperloop One says it has now raised a total of $295M since it was founded in 2014. According to Branson, the new investment by Caspian and DP World will help it pursue opportunities in key markets in the Middle East, Europe, and Russia.

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Silicon Beach Report Dec. 19: Co-Working Firm Spaces Signs 61,000-Square-Foot Lease in Hollywood

L.A. Business Journal

Co-working firm Spaces grows L.A. County presence with 61,000-square-foot lease in Hollywood; CaliBurger launches facial recognition at restaurant; and Virgin Hyperloop One rebuffs a sale and instead took $50 million lifeline.

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5 Steps To Reduce Due Diligence Investment Failures

Startup Professionals Musings

In my activities as an angel investor, and my work with new ventures seeking investment, I find the “due diligence” stage to be fraught with the most risk. Usually this stage only really starts after an investor has expressed serious interest, or already informally agreed to invest. Most founders consider the story already told and the deal pending, so they aren’t sure what more then can do.

Invest 59
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San Diego Life Sciences 2022: Photos and Takeaways

Xconomy

View the Slideshow Making predictions can be a tricky business. Nevertheless, Xconomy recently brought together some of San Diego’s most prominent life sciences leaders to offer their vision for what the regional biotech cluster will be like in five years. They broadly agreed that San Diego has proven itself as a great seedbed for life sciences startups.

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Lessons Learned from the OPM Breach

socalTECH

VIDEO: Michael Daniel, President of the CTA and former official in the Obama Administration, provides insight into what went wrong at OPM and why encryption isn't enough.

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Silicon Beach Report Dec. 20: HappyReturns Raises $8 Million

L.A. Business Journal

HappyReturns raises $8 million, Elon Musk accidentally posts phone number to Twitter; and Faraday Future’s Jia Yueting to become CEO and finds new financing.

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An Ideal Startup Team Excels At Whole-Brain Thinking

Startup Professionals Musings

Traditionally, the majority of entrepreneurs have been logical thinkers, problem solvers, with full attention to details. These are the stereotypical left-brain engineers. Yet I see a big shift from the knowledge age, with its left-brain foundation, to a critical focus today on visualization, creativity, relationships, and collaboration, which are more in the domain of right-brainers.

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Why Pre-Order Sales Are Critical and How to Increase Your Pre-Order Pipeline

Xconomy

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TunesMap Targets Sonos, Apple TV Users With Music App

socalTECH

Pacific Palisades-based TunesMap , the developer of an interactive, immersive music application, says it has launched a beta of a new music application which it says adds "photos, films, art, fashion, videos, merchandise, news and more" to music for Sonos users, in conjunction with Apple TV. The startup is led by G. Marq Roswell, and says it is looking provide a "seamless cultural exploration around any song".

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Amazon Acquires Ring's Video Doorbell Competitor, Blink

socalTECH

E-commerce giant Amazon has acquired wireless camera maker Blink , one of the competitors to Los Angeles-based video doorbell maker Ring , Blink said Friday. Financial details of the acquisition were not announced. Ring, led by serial entrepreneur Jamie Siminoff, has seen enormous success in adoption of its smart, connected doorbells, which let users answer the door remotely, record video of visitors (or burglars), and more; the company also has expanded into security cameras.

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Veritone Acquires Atigeo

socalTECH

Costa Mesa-based artificial intelligence software developer Veritone said late Wednesday that it has acquired the software and intellectual property of Atigeo Corporation. Financial details of the acquisition were not announced. Atigeo said it acquired the software plus 60 issued and pending patents covering various aspects of Atigeo's data science technology.

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Science Launches Bitcoin Mining Effort

socalTECH

Santa Monica-based Science , the startup studio led by former MySpace CEO Michael Jones, says it is booting up an effort to launch its own, bitcoin "mining" facility here in the United States, using renewable energy. Science said the effort comes out of Science Blockchain, its incubator which is focused on funding and growing companies in the Blockchain space.

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RealD Sues Volfoni, CinemaNext

socalTECH

Los Angeles-based 3D movie projection technology developer RealD has filed a patent infringement lawsuit against two companies in Germany, Volfoni and CinemaNext , allegig the two are infringing on a number of its patents. According to RealD, it filed suit against Volfoni SAS, Volfoni GmbH and CinemaNext Deutschland Gmbh in a court in Dusseldorf, Germany, and is seeking an injunction banning the sale of the infringing devices and seeks financial damages.

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FreedomPop Debuts White Label Wireless Brand Platform

socalTECH

Want to start your very own wireless brand, without having to actually operate your own network? Los Angeles-based FreedomPop said on Tuesday that it has launched a new platform, which lets any telecom, cable company, or enterprise create its own, wireless brand. According to FreedomPop, the new platform lets customers create their own, mobile brand in only eight weeks.

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Cylance Names New CTO

socalTECH

Irvine-based cybersecurity software developer Cylance has named Rahul Kashyap as its new Global Chief Technology Officer, the company said on Monday. Kashyap, who has been at Cylance for a year, previously had served at Bromium and McAfee Labs. Cylance develops antivirus and endpoint protection software, which uses artificial intelligence to tackle malware and other threats.

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Nuvve Raises Series A Funding To Connect EVs To The Power Grid

socalTECH

San Diego-based Nuvve , a developer of technology which helps connect electric vehicles into the power grid for better balancing power consumption across the grid, has raised a Series A investment round. Size of that investment was not announced. The funding came from EDF Renewable Energy, and also included Toota Tsusho. Nuvve develops software that helps use unused power capacity stored in the batteries of electric vehicles, to balance out uneven loads on the power grid--essentially, using EV b

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Econolite Names CTO

socalTECH

Anaheim-based Econolite , a developer of connected vehicle and traffic management technology, says it has named a new Chief Technology Officer. According to Econolite, it has named Eric Raamot as Chief Technology Officer of the company, replacing retiring Senior VP and CTO Gary Duncan. Raamot was most recently VP of Engineering at the company. Raamot is a longtime Econolite employee, having been VP of Engineering since 2004, in addition to holding other positions at the company.

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Report: Virgin Hyperloop One Raises $50M, To Set Richard Branson As Chair

socalTECH

A report this morning says that Los Angeles-based Virgin Hyperloop One is getting set to announced a new, $50M investment, and will be installing Sir Richard Branson as its new chairman. According to Axios, the funding comes as Virgin Hyperloop One was "running very low on cash". The report also says that Branson will replace Shervin Pishevar, who is in the midst of dealing with claims of sexual misconduct , which he alleges is a "smear campaign" against him--but have resulted in his departure f

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How to Set SMART Hiring Goals in 2018

socalTECH

With 2017 nearing an end, it is time to take a step back, assess your talent acquisition accomplishments and establish new goals for the coming year. As stagnant recruitment strategies make way for smart goals, recruiters need to make time and keep up with the changing trends. Keep your recruiter game strong even in a […]. The post How to Set SMART Hiring Goals in 2018 appeared first on Jobsoid.

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FabFitFun Launches TV App, Expands Video Efforts

socalTECH

West Hollywood-based online lifestyle brand FabFitFun said on Thursday that it is planning to "significantly" expand its video content, with the launch of a new FabFitFunTV App and more videos and content for its streaming service, FabFitFunTV. The company said the app is launching initially on Apple TV and Amazon Fire, and will roll out on Roku next year.

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Ignyta To Be Acquired By Roche For $1.7 Billion

socalTECH

San Diego-based precision medicine developer Ignyta has agreed to be acquired by biopharmaceuticals giant Roche , in a $1.7 billion deal, the two said late Thursday evening. According to the two, they are in a definitive merger agreement, where Roche will acquire Ignyta for $27.00 per share in cash, or $1.7 billion. The companies said the price is a premium of 74% on Ignyta's closing price on Thursday.

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SpaceX Targets Launch From Vandenberg At 5:27 p.m.

socalTECH

If you are anywhere along the Central Coast tonight, up near Santa Barbara, don't be surprised if you see a spectacular flame from the North, as Hawthorne-based SpaceX launches a payload of satellites into space just after sunset. According to SpaceX and military officials at Vandenberg Air Force Base, in Lompoc, SpaceX is slated to lift off 10 satellites from Iridium from Space Launch Complex 4E at 5:28 p.m.

SpaceX 113
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Faraday Future Reportedly Raises $1 Billion In Funding

socalTECH

Los Angeles-based Faraday Future , the troubled electric car maker, has reportedly raised $1 billion in new funding, according to a Chinese publication. The company has not announced the alleged funding round in the United States, and there has been no additional confirmation of the funding. Faraday Future recently lost its chief designer , along with three other key executives , and employees apparently had stopped showing up for work sometime in November.

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