socaltech.com TechNews - Wednesday, December 12, 2012 Edited by Benjamin F. Kuo ISSN: 1524-6736 http://www.socaltech.com/News ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Sponsored by:
Clearstone Ventures (www.clearstone.com). Venture capital for innovators. Deloitte LLP (http://www.deloitte.com/us/technology). Fetch Recruiting, Inc. (http://www.fetchrecruiting.com) Technical Recruiting for LA based Startups and High-Growth Companies Silicon Valley Bank (http://www.svb.com). Helping entrepreneurs succeed. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ --Capturing Music, Life, and More With Vyclone, with David King Lassman --Coda Automotive Lays Off 50 --Enevate Gets $24M For Battery Technology --Cadence Pharmaceuticals Terminates Buyout Option For Incline Therapeutics --Evolve Media Launches New Ad Product --DTS Powers Huawei Ascend Smartphone --DFR Selects Jim Jonassen For Annual Honor --Farmigo Eyes LA Next With $8M For Local Food --Warner, MGM Back Game Maker Kabam --One King's Lane Raises $50M MARKETPLACE --Safire Partners Executive Search --Binary Pulse Technology Marketing. We Create Demand. --PwC Emerging Company Zone RECENT JOB POSTINGS --Sales Manager-Direct Sales, Santa Barbara, Local Market Launch --Graphic Designer, Santa Barbara, Local Market Launch --UI/UX Developer, Santa Barbara, Local Market Launch --Director of Business Development-Franchise Sales, Santa Barbara, Local Market Launch --Director of Sales, Santa Barbara, Local Market Launch --PHP Developer, Santa Barbara, Local Market Launch RECENT FUNDING EVENTS ------------------------------ADVERTISEMENT------------------------------- SVB Presents Amplify Mentor Series with Zefr - 12/12/12 Join SVB Wednesday (12/12) @ 5:30 PM for a presentation from the Founders of ZEFR. TOPIC: ZEFR Founders, Zach James & Richard Raddon, will give a presentation on the founding of ZEFR. ZEFR provides solutions for professional content owners on YouTube and has built a premium network that brings together the largest and most diverse collection of movies, television, music and sports content. With more than 1 billion monthly views after only a year on the platform, ZEFR is the fastest growing YouTube partner. PARTICIPANTS: SVB, ZEFR Founders Zach James & Richard Raddon PRICE: $10.00 to make sure you show up since we have limited spaces! REGISTER HERE: http://svb_amplify.eventbrite.com --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Capturing Music, Life, and More With Vyclone, with David King Lassman ---- What's the best way to capture the important things in your life on video, and share them with friends? Los Angeles-based Vyclone (www.vyclone.com) has created a mobile application which lets users capture videos, and automatically edits and combines multiple points of view from people nearby, and remixes it into an even more compelling video. The startup--which has the backing of such high profile investors as Ashton Kutcher and Guy Oseary's A-Grade Investments, Dreamworks, and Live Nation--also has some major partnership with entertainers like Madonna and No Doubt to create crowdsourced videos of their events. We caught up with CEO David King Lassman to hear what the company's up to. What's the idea behind Vyclone? David King Lassman: We started Vyclone almost two and a half years ago. It came out of the brain of my good (More...) http://bit.ly/UTHc3r --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Coda Automotive Lays Off 50 ---- It looks like Southern California's emerging electric automobile industry has definitively hit the skids, as Santa Monica-based electric auto developer Coda Automotive laid off 50 employees Tuesday. The layoffs--first reported by PlugInCars--apprently included a "substantial part" of its sales and marketing staff. The layoffs impact approximately 15 percent of Coda's workforce. The layoffs apparently come as the company has sold less than 100 of its automobiles since launching in March, according to the report. The move comes only a few days after news that Southern California's other, remaining electric auto startup--Fisker Automotive--is seeking a buyer, hoping to stave off Chapter 11 bankruptcy. So far, the region's track record in the sector has been less than stellar--Aptera Motors, which had been developing a three-wheeled electric vehicle, shut down in 2011, and Next Autoworks (V-Vehicle) quietly disappeared in 2011, after failing to get a DOE loan. Enevate Gets $24M For Battery Technology ---- Irvine-based Enevate, a developer of rechargeable lithium ion batteries, has raised $24M in a Series B funding, the company said this morning. The round came from CEC Capital, Tsing Capital, and Presidio Ventures, along with prior investors Mission Ventures and Draper Fisher Jurvetson. Enervate is developing next generation Li-ion batteries aimed at smartphones, tablets, and notebook PCs. The firm says its technology "dramatically" increase energy density over conventional battery technology. The company said the funds will go to bring its first products to market and to accelerate commercialization of its technology. The new funding round comes over twelve years since its initial Series A funding, back in 2005, when the company spun out its technology from UC Irvine. The firm said it was advised by Pantek Partners for a portion of the funding. http://www.socaltech.com/intelligence/index.php?action=showdeal&id=47202 Cadence Pharmaceuticals Terminates Buyout Option For Incline Therapeutics ---- San Diego-based Cadence Pharmaceuticals said this morning that it has entered into an agreement to terminate an option it has to acquire Incline Therapeutics. Cadence said it will receive approximately $13M from The Medicines Company to terminate the option, plus approximately $1.5M related to the purchase of Incline by The Medicines Company. Cadence said the move would provide it with non-dilutive capital and a "solid return" on its original investment in Incline. Evolve Media Launches New Ad Product ---- Los Angeles-based Evolve Media Corp, which operates such sites as CraveOnline, totallyher Media, GameRevolution, and LiveOutdoors, said today that it has launched a new online advertising product. The company said its INgage product semantically maps site content and helps online advertisers reach site visitors. The firm said that the new ad product helps avoid "banner blindness" by surfacing sponsored, custom content from advertisers that it says feel organic to a site. DTS Powers Huawei Ascend Smartphone ---- Calabasas-based audio processing technology provider DTS reported a win today with Huawei, and its new Ascend G600 smartphone. DTS said its DTS Sound audio enhancement products are shipping with the new device. Financial impact of the win was not announced. DTS is a provider of audio processing, surround sound, and other technology used to enhance audio on a wide range of electronics devices. Huawei's phone is shipping in China and New Zealand, and will be available in Europe later this month. DFR Selects Jim Jonassen For Annual Honor ---- The Digital Family Reunion, the annual holiday gathering which pulls together a network of local trade groups and organizations, said Tuesday that it has selected Jim Jonassen with its annual Outstanding Achievement honor. Jonassen is a recruiter and also runs the Thursday Nights events, along with having been involved with efforts such as LAwNMoweR and the Digital Coast Roundtable. DFR has previously recognized Eric Pulier, Nolan Bushnell, Scott Painter and William Quigley with the award. The group is holding its fifth annual event on Wednesday, December 12th. Farmigo Eyes LA Next With $8M For Local Food ---- Farmigo, a startup developing an online marketplace connecting local farmers with consumers, said Tuesday that it has raised $8M in a Series B funding, and is eyeing Los Angeles as one of its next markets. The startup--based in Palo Alto--develops an online marketplace to let people buy directly from multiple, local farms, and have those purchases directly delivered to people's work. The company has so far launched in San Francisco and New York, but says that it is in the process of launching its efforts here in Los Angeles. A Farmigo spokesperson said that the company is working with "a number of farms in LA" on its upcoming launch in the area. http://www.socaltech.com/intelligence/index.php?action=showdeal&id=47196 Warner, MGM Back Game Maker Kabam ---- Warner Brothers Entertainment and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios have invested in massively multiplayer, online and social game maker Kabam, as part of the launch of several games centered around The Hobbit. Kama said today that it has launched The Hobbit: Kingdoms of Middle-earth App for iPhone, iPad, iPod touch and Android devices, inspired by the Hobbit trilogy. Size of the funding from Warner and MGM was not announced. http://www.socaltech.com/intelligence/index.php?action=showdeal&id=47195 One King's Lane Raises $50M ---- Online home furnishing retailer One King's Lane said Tuesday that it has raised $50M in a new funding, which brings its total raised to $117M. The e-commerce and flash sales operator--which has an office in Los Angeles--said the funding was led by Institutional Venture Partners, and also included Scripps Interactive, Kleiner Perkins, Greylock Partners, and Tiger Global Management. The firm's headquarters are in San Francisco. http://www.socaltech.com/intelligence/index.php?action=showdeal&id=47194 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- MARKETPLACE Reach 10000+ readers for 5 days for $250 Post your marketplace ad at: http://www.socaltech.com/postad.html ------------------------------ADVERTISEMENT------------------------------- Safire Partners Executive Search Safire Partners has completed 150+ retained executive searches since 2006 working with emerging businesses in digital media, Internet, eCommerce, software and clean technology across Southern California. Please visit our website to see an updated list of our clients and searches completed at http://www.safirepartners.com/. We are always interested in meeting new candidates and potential clients, so feel free to email our Managing Partner, Todd Gitlin at [email protected]. We can also always be a friendly source for investor introductions and general market / compensation intelligence. ------------------------------ADVERTISEMENT------------------------------- Binary Pulse Technology Marketing. We Create Demand. Binary Pulse Technology Marketing We Create Demand for California's Technology Companies For more than ten years, dozens of Southern California's industry-leading tech firms have turned to Binary Pulse for their demand-generating strategies and programs. Our services include: -- Demand Generation Planning and Execution -- Channel Program Development -- Lead Capture and Management -- Web Site Development & Search Engine Marketing -- Corporate and Product Branding -- Online Integration Strategies -- Reseller Recruitment -- Multimedia Presentations -- Social Media Marketing Please visit us at http://www.binarypulse.com to learn more or give us a call at 949-336-7400. ------------------------------ADVERTISEMENT------------------------------- PwC Emerging Company Zone Visit the Emerging Company Zone, sponsored by PricewaterhouseCoopers, for access to the latest MoneyTree venture capital report; thought leadership articles, information on IPOs and more. http://www.socaltech.com/pwc ------------------------------ADVERTISEMENT------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------------ RECENT JOB POSTINGS More jobs at http://www.socaltech.com/Jobs Members post jobs for free Sales Manager-Direct Sales, Santa Barbara, Local Market Launch http://www.socaltech.com/showjob.php?id=5459 Graphic Designer, Santa Barbara, Local Market Launch http://www.socaltech.com/showjob.php?id=5461 UI/UX Developer, Santa Barbara, Local Market Launch http://www.socaltech.com/showjob.php?id=5460 Director of Business Development-Franchise Sales, Santa Barbara, Local Market Launch http://www.socaltech.com/showjob.php?id=5458 Director of Sales, Santa Barbara, Local Market Launch http://www.socaltech.com/showjob.php?id=5457 PHP Developer, Santa Barbara, Local Market Launch http://www.socaltech.com/showjob.php?id=5456 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ RECENT FUNDING SUMMARY 12/12/12 Enevate $24.0M http://www.socaltech.com/intelligence/?action=showdeal&id=47202 12/06/12 Biomatrica $5.0M http://www.socaltech.com/intelligence/?action=showdeal&id=47059 12/06/12 Avelas Biosciences $7.7M http://www.socaltech.com/intelligence/?action=showdeal&id=47060 11/29/12 CapLinked $1.6M http://www.socaltech.com/intelligence/?action=showdeal&id=46913 11/29/12 TranscribeMe $0.9M http://www.socaltech.com/intelligence/?action=showdeal&id=46916 11/29/12 ArmaGen Technologies Inc $17.0M http://www.socaltech.com/intelligence/?action=showdeal&id=46984 11/29/12 CARDIAQ VALVE TECHNOLOGIES INC $37.3M http://www.socaltech.com/intelligence/?action=showdeal&id=46449 11/27/12 Fresh Dish $0.5M http://www.socaltech.com/intelligence/?action=showdeal&id=46902 11/27/12 At The Pool $0.8M http://www.socaltech.com/intelligence/?action=showdeal&id=46906 11/20/12 Cap That $2.3M http://www.socaltech.com/intelligence/?action=showdeal&id=46813 11/20/12 Mabvax Therapeutics $5.3M http://www.socaltech.com/intelligence/?action=showdeal&id=46811 11/15/12 Chromatik $1.0M http://www.socaltech.com/intelligence/?action=showdeal&id=46569 11/14/12 HelloInsights.com $0.0M http://www.socaltech.com/intelligence/?action=showdeal&id=46558 11/13/12 Epic Sciences $13.0M http://www.socaltech.com/intelligence/?action=showdeal&id=46547 11/13/12 DogVacay $6.0M http://www.socaltech.com/intelligence/?action=showdeal&id=46548 11/13/12 Consumer Brands $0.0M http://www.socaltech.com/intelligence/?action=showdeal&id=46549 11/13/12 Biosynthetic Technologies $7.0M http://www.socaltech.com/intelligence/?action=showdeal&id=46557 11/13/12 Minitime $1.0M http://www.socaltech.com/intelligence/?action=showdeal&id=46554 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Upcoming Events This Month http://www.socaltech.com/Calendar socaltech.com Calendar of Southern California High Tech Events Submit your events at least two weeks in advance to: http://www.socaltech.com/submitevent.html December 12, Los Angeles -- SVB Presents Amplify Mentor Series with Zefr. ZEFR Founders, Zach James & Richard Raddon, will give a presentation on the founding of ZEFR. ZEFR provides solutions for professional content owners on YouTube and has built a premium network that brings together the largest and most diverse collection of movies, television, music and sports content. With more than 1 billion monthly views after only a year on the platform, ZEFR is the fastest growing YouTube partner. SVB, ZEFR Founders Zach James & Richard RaddonNEW . See http://www.socaltech.com/calendar/eventid/23033 December 12, Santa Monica -- Digital Family Reunion. For the fifth year running, we'll celebrate the connectedness of our vibrant digital media industry in Southern California at the Digital Family Reunion. Whether you were there at the beginning, lived through the dot-com era, emerged after the crash or started your career in digital yesterday, you are a part of the Digital Family. And you are invited to participate in the industry's holiday event of the season, where the most dynamic and well-connected media, entertainment, technology and finance professionals in Southern California gather each year in celebration of our industry and each other. See http://www.socaltech.com/calendar/eventid/22954 December 12, Los Angeles -- Social Curation Summit. Leverage the Effects of Curated Commerce & Consumption Discover how brands and retailers across a wide range of business verticals can use curated stories, pictures, and videos to highlight creativity and innovation. See http://www.socaltech.com/calendar/eventid/23000 December 13, Los Angeles -- The Power of Collaborative Philanthropy. Broads Circle. Panelists: JACQUELINE JACOBS CASTER, Founder, Everychild Foundation; JUDY PATRICK, President and CEO, Women's Foundation of California; GAEL SYLVIA PULLEN, CEO, Sylvia Global and Member of Women Moving Millions. Keynote Speaker: JOCELYN TETEL, Vice President of Advancement, Skirball Cultural Center; Moderator: CHERYL CALHOUN, Managing Director, Tax & Business Management, CBIZ MHM, LLC. See http://www.socaltech.com/calendar/eventid/22959 December 13, Westlake Village -- ACG 101 Holiday Party. After all the challenges and turmoil of 2012, let’s relax and socialize with friends and colleagues at the ACG 101 Holiday Party the evening of Thursday, December 13, at the Westlake Village Inn. It will be a time for all of us to unwind with great food, drink and conversation, and to network with old friends and meet new ones. See http://www.socaltech.com/calendar/eventid/22969 December 13, Santa Monica -- An Evening with Brad Feld. An evening with venture capitalist Brad Feld to discuss his new book Startup Communities. You'd be hard pressed to find an individual who has made as big a contribution to startup culture and thought leadership as Venture Capitalist and blogger, Brad Feld. Join us at Cross Campus for a discussion with Brad as he takes us through his new book, Startup Communities. "Startup communities" are popping up everywhere, from cities like Boulder to Boston and even in countries such as Iceland. These types of entrepreneurial ecosystems are driving innovation and small business energy. Startup Communities documents the buzz, strategy, long-term perspective, and dynamics of building communities of entrepreneurs who can feed off of each other's talent, creativity, and support. See http://www.socaltech.com/calendar/eventid/22998 December 13, Santa Barbara -- StartupSB Holiday Happy Hour. Holiday happy hour for StartupSB, Santa Barbara's largest Startup focused group. Come have a drink, socialize with the community, and hear from Startup Weekend Santa Barbara 1 & 2 teams. See http://www.socaltech.com/calendar/eventid/23021 December 13, Los Angeles -- Digital LA - Holiday Party 2012. Join us for the holidays at the Station at the W Hollywood!Wear your holiday reds (our fave color) and Santa caps. Take pics at the Photboxi booth or by the lobby tree. See http://www.socaltech.com/calendar/eventid/23025 December 13, Santa Monica -- Startup Holiday Mixer. Hosted by Schmoozd and General Assembly LA. Say Cheese(y)! Join us to celebrate the holiday season and the growth of the LA startup community. Put on your cheesiest holiday outfits and join 30+ LA startups for food, cocktails, music, and mingling. Holiday portraits of teams and groups will be taken, displayed, and voted on by partygoers, with prizes going to the cheesiest portraits. Startups, entrepreneurs, friends, and enthusiasts are all welcome. See http://www.socaltech.com/calendar/eventid/22974 December 13, Irvine -- Selling Your Story. A TCVN Workshop. Getting funded sometimes seems like a career itself (and indeed it is a big part of the CEO’s responsibilities). In order to succeed, need to understand both the rules of the game and the equipment – without these you may squander some of your most valuable resources - time and relationships. Two keys communication tools are the Executive Summary and the PowerPoint Presentation (Pitch Deck). This forum will help you understand how these tools are used to generate a face-to-face meeting, make a persuasive and memorable presentation, and then follow through with the details needed for investors to begin their due diligence process. See http://www.socaltech.com/calendar/eventid/22983 December 13, Los Angeles -- MediaBistro Social Gaming Summit. This is a conference focused on the intersection of mobile gaming, immersive worlds, real-life brands and social networking. See http://www.socaltech.com/calendar/eventid/23023 December 13, Aliso Viejo -- Developing Communications Program for Your Technology Startup: A Workshop. OCTANe. A strong communications program is an essential component for your business plan and is commonly overlooked amid focus on products and financials. A team from Fleishman-Hillard will provide an overview of the components for a proper communications plan and then hold a workshop with one-on-one sessions that will help set the direction for how you can incorporate a solid outreach program into your plan. See http://www.socaltech.com/calendar/eventid/22785 December 14, Santa Monica -- Cross Campus and FastPay are hosting a charity holiday party for Silicon Beach. See http://www.socaltech.com/calendar/eventid/23026 December 14, Diamond Bar -- EV Sphere 2012. EV Sphere 2012 is a great networking opportunity for stakeholders and the general public to discuss the challenges and opportunities in electric vehicle industry. See http://www.socaltech.com/calendar/eventid/23012 December 14, Los Angeles -- MediaBistro Social Gaming Summit. This is a conference focused on the intersection of mobile gaming, immersive worlds, real-life brands and social networking. See http://www.socaltech.com/calendar/eventid/23024 December 15, Los Angeles -- Initiated by US-China Association of High-level Professionals (UCAHP), "Win in the 21st Century Startup Contest" is the first startup contest that targets entrepreneurs in U.S. and helps them to expand business in U.S. and China. By soliciting startup projects, expert judging, mentor programs and eventual funding, the contest hopes to inspire entrepreneurial spirit, lead technology innovation, invest in promising projects and further develop the global market. The third startup contest partners with Tsinghua Entrepreneur & Executive Club (TEEC), Hua Yuan Science and Technology Association (HYSTA), People.com, Sina.com and PlusYoou. See http://www.socaltech.com/calendar/eventid/23015 December 18, Santa Monica -- Putting the "User" back in User Experience. Coloft. Who is this mysterious "user" that everyone's talking about? In this class, we'll review several techniques for defining who your users are and understanding how and why they use your product. . See http://www.socaltech.com/calendar/eventid/22990 December 31, Los Angeles -- LA Ruby / Ruby on Rails Monthly Meetup. See http://www.socaltech.com/calendar/eventid/22992 December 31, Santa Monica -- SM New Tech Meetup November 2012 #SMNT5. 6 new tech startup companies will present their products and technology (5 min demo+5 min Q&A). See http://www.socaltech.com/calendar/eventid/22934 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Sponsored by: Clearstone Ventures (www.clearstone.com). Venture capital for innovators. Silicon Valley Bank (http://www.svb.com). Helping entrepreneurs succeed. Stubbs Alderton Markiles, LLP (http://www.stubbsalderton.com). Business. Technology. Law. Vision. Safire Partners (http://www.safirepartners.com). Los Angeles-based executive search for emerging growth companies Binary Pulse Technology Marketing (http://www.binarypulse.com). We Create Demand for California's Technology Companies. Deloitte LLP (http://www.deloitte.com/us/technology). Fetch Recruiting, Inc. (www.fetchrecruiting.com) Technical Recruiting for LA based Startups and High-Growth Companies Email [email protected] for more information about sponsoring this newsletter. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- You are receiving this email because you subscribed to the socalTECH.com TechNews from our web site, or otherwise requested a subscription. If you do not want to receive this newsletter go to: http://www.socaltech.com/unsubscribe.php or email us at [email protected] ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Legal Notices ---- While SOCALTECH LLC has used its best efforts in collecting and preparing the information published herein, SOCALTECH LLC does not assume, and hereby disclaims, any liability for any loss or damage caused by errors or omissions, whether such errors or omissions resulted from negligence, accident or other causes. All contents Copyright (c) 2012 SOCALTECH LLC. All rights reserved. socalTECH.com - Dedicated to High Tech in Southern California http://www.socaltech.com/ SOCALTECH LLC 4607 Lakeview Canyon Road, Suite 290, Westlake Village, CA 91361 _______________________________________________ Socaltech mailing list [email protected] http://listserv.socaltech.com/mailman/listinfo/socaltech
