socaltech.com TechNews - Wednesday, December 3, 2014 Edited by Benjamin F. Kuo ISSN: 1524-6736 http://www.socaltech.com/News ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Sponsored by:
TVC Capital LLC (www.tvccapital.com) Investments and acquisitions of growing software companies. 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. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ --Sonos Raises $130M In New Funding --New Effort Taps Crowdsourced PCs To Help Find Ebola Cure --Tillster Ties Into Mobile Marketing Software --InstaMed Raises $15M For Healthcare Payments --Illumina, Sequenom Settle Patent Lawsuit --El Loco Finds $2.3M For Mobile App Translations --Is North Korea Behind Sony Pictures Hack? --SendGrid Gets $20M More For Email Delivery MARKETPLACE --USC MS in Entrepreneurship and Innovation Info Session --New Q3 Money Tree Results! --Fetch Recruiting, Inc. --Apply for the Stubbs Alderton & Markiles Precellerator! --Reliam- Leaders of Internet Application Management RECENT JOB POSTINGS --Head of Product (VF iQ), Venice, Vision Fleet --User Experience (UX) Design Manager - Mobile, San Luis Obispo,, MINDBODY Inc. RECENT FUNDING EVENTS ------------------------------ADVERTISEMENT------------------------------- Honor the socalTECH 50 On December 10th! Join us on December 10th to help honor this year's socalTECH 50--and also join the technology and digital industry's best holiday party of the year, the Digital Family Reunion! The SoCal tech scene continues to expand at an unprecedented rate. This year, LA-based start-ups focused on branded content, apps, and big data, and together raised more capital than any other city in the world after Silicon Valley. The demand for human capital continues to grow with more educational, job force development and industry events supporting the expansion. There’s plenty of reasons to celebrate the SoCal region. Please join us at the Skirball Cultural Center on Wednesday, December 10! Tickets are now available: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/digital-family-reunion-and-socaltech-50-tickets-13192911353 SPECIAL DISCOUNT FOR SOCALTECH MEMBERS: USE CODE SCTMEMBER --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sonos Raises $130M In New Funding ---- Santa Barbara-based whole home music system maker Sonos has raised $130M in a new funding round, according to a regulatory filing from the firm. No details of the funding have yet been announced by the company. According to the filing, eight investors participated in the new funding for the company. Sonos has previously raised funding from BV Capital, Elevation Partners, Index Ventures, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., and Redpoint Ventures. The company last raised a round worth $135M in 2012. Sonos develops very user friendly, whole home speakers and audio products which also very easily connect with streaming music services. http://www.socaltech.com/intelligence/?action=showdeal&id=61157 New Effort Taps Crowdsourced PCs To Help Find Ebola Cure ---- A new effort by San Diego-based Scripps Research Institute and IBM is seeking to tap into the collective power of crowdsoruced PCs and Android mobile devices, to help find a cure for Ebola. (More...) http://www.socaltech.com/new_effort_taps_crowdsourced_pcs_to_help_find_ebola_cure/s-0058059.html Tillster Ties Into Mobile Marketing Software ---- Los Angeles-based Tillster, which develops digital ordering and engagement platforms used by quick service and fast casual restaurants, said yesterday that it is integrating its tools with mobile marketing company Kahuna. Financial details of the partnership were not disclosed. The two said the deal will provide the ability to target guests with content and offers, letting restaurants communicate with customers via email, mobile web, apps, and social promotions. Tillster is led by Perse Faily, and offers up its systems and software to such companies as Boston Market, Burger King, California Pizza Kitchen, and many others. Kahuna is backed by Sequoia Capital. InstaMed Raises $15M For Healthcare Payments ---- Newport Beach- and Philadelphia-based InstaMed, which operates a healthcare payments network, has raised $15M in a private placement to accelerate its business. According to the company, the private placement was oversubscribed by $2M. The company said the new funding came from existing and new investors. Names of those investors were not announced. InstaMed said it has over 150 employees. InstaMed says it has more than 11,000 healthcare provider organizations using its payment network. The company's CTo and co-founder, Chris Seib, is located in Newport Beach; the company's other co founder is CEO Bill Marvin. http://www.socaltech.com/intelligence/index.php?action=showdeal&id=59962 Illumina, Sequenom Settle Patent Lawsuit ---- San Diego-based Illumina and fellow San Diego company Sequenom said the two have ended a patent dispute, with Illumina paying Sequenom $50M, plus additional payments through 2020. The two also said they will pool their noninvasive, prenatal testing intellectual property, and that Illumina will gain the exclusive worldwide rights to utilize that intellectual property to develop and sell in-viitro diagnostics kits for noninvasive prenatal testing, with both companies sharing revenue from the patent pool. Illumina will also supply Sequenom with instruments and reagents. El Loco Finds $2.3M For Mobile App Translations ---- Walnut-based El Loco, which provides localization services for mobile app developers, has raised $2.3M in a seed funding, the company disclosed today. The funding came from angel investors. El Loco says it helps app developers via software which helps extract strings into a usable format, auto-translates phrases, lets developers preview translations visually within the app, and re-integrate all those translated strings back into the application. Is North Korea Behind Sony Pictures Hack? ---- Is the massive hack against Sony Pictures a result of North Korean hacking? A number of reports suggest that the country might be behind the hacking of Sony Pictures last week, which completely took down Sony's corporate network--and apparently also has been linked to the release of a number of current and as-yet-to-be-released films to file sharing sites. The reports speculate that North Korea officials may have been irked by the upcoming release of the Sony Pictures comedy The Interview, where James Franco and Seth Rogen play a pair of television hosts tasked with assassinating North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un. http://www.socaltech.com/is_north_korea_behind_sony_pictures_hack_/s-0058046.html SendGrid Gets $20M More For Email Delivery ---- SendGrid, the developer of email delivery platform used heavily by app developers, has raised $20M more in a Series C, venture funding round, the company said this morning. The company--which has significant operations in Orange County--said the Bain Capital Ventures, along with Bessemer Venture Partners and Foundry Group. SendGrid has a big operation in Orange, with a focus on engineering and software. The company's main headquarters are in Boulder, Colorado. http://www.socaltech.com/intelligence/?action=showdeal&id=61141 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- MARKETPLACE Reach 10000+ readers for 5 days for $250 Post your marketplace ad at: http://www.socaltech.com/postad.html ------------------------------ADVERTISEMENT------------------------------- USC MS in Entrepreneurship and Innovation Info Session Master of Science, Entrepreneurship & Innovation Information Session @ USC Thursday, December 4, 2014 from 6:30 PM to 7:30 PM (PST) USC, University Park campus, Los Angeles, CA http://www.marshall.usc.edu/msei?adref=SoCalTech14 Learn more about the USC Marshall MS in Entrepreneurship and Innovation (MSEI) at an info session on Thursday, December 4, 6:30-7:30 pm. The MSEI prepares you for opportunities in corporate venturing, technology commercialization and more. With full- and part-time options, the program gives you the flexibility you need. Register now. More information: http://www.marshall.usc.edu/msei/information ------------------------------ADVERTISEMENT------------------------------- New Q3 Money Tree Results! Get the latest Q3 2014 PwC SoCal MoneyTree Report NEW Q3 2014 Results! Are you interested in understanding the latest trends in venture capital investments in Southern California? Want to know how the region did in terms of venture capital? PwC has just posted the results of the Q3 2014 Southern California venture deals, in its Shaking The MoneyTree presentation and update from HJ Paik, Director, Emerging Company Services Download it today for free! http://www.socaltech.com/pwc/PwC%20Shaking%20the%20MoneyTree%20Q3%202014.pdf http://www.socaltech.com/pwc ------------------------------ADVERTISEMENT------------------------------- Fetch Recruiting, Inc. Fetch Recruiting, Inc. (http://www.fetchrecruiting.com) Technical Recruiting for LA based Startups and High-Growth Companies ------------------------------ADVERTISEMENT------------------------------- Apply for the Stubbs Alderton & Markiles Precellerator! Stubbs Alderton & Markiles, LLP is one of the leading start-up law firms in Southern California. We pioneered a fixed fee start-up package making the formation and organization of your start-up as seamless as possible. Our Preccelerator Program is a new platform offered to select start-up companies out of our Santa Monica office that provides interim office space and sophisticated legal services, with the objective of helping you grow your idea from business concept to funded startup. The Preccelerator Program provides free co-working space and other perks for 5-6 promising young startups. We are now opening up applications for five new startups to join the program. Apply now! http://www.stubbsalderton.com/preccelerator ------------------------------ADVERTISEMENT------------------------------- Reliam- Leaders of Internet Application Management Who's ensuring the performance of your application or website? Reliam's Internet Application Management extends beyond the services currently available from most managed hosting providers and covers the entire application stack including customer application code. Reliam is trusted by the world's most recognized brands, the top interactive agencies, and the largest internet events in the world. Our services include: - State-of-the-art Internet Application Management - All-inclusive Managed Services - On-demand Scalable Hybrid Architectures - 24x7x365 U.S. Phone-based Rapid Support - Complete Monitoring - Enterprise Quality Server Hardware - Premium Tier IV Data Centers Please visit us at http://www.reliam.com to learn more. ------------------------------ADVERTISEMENT------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------------ RECENT JOB POSTINGS More jobs at http://www.socaltech.com/Jobs Members post jobs for free Head of Product (VF iQ), Venice, Vision Fleet http://www.socaltech.com/showjob.php?id=5605 User Experience (UX) Design Manager - Mobile, San Luis Obispo,, MINDBODY Inc. http://www.socaltech.com/showjob.php?id=5604 User Experience (UX) Design Manager - Mobile, San Luis Obispo,, MINDBODY Inc. http://www.socaltech.com/showjob.php?id=5603 Senior User Experience (UX) Designer, San Luis Obispo,, MINDBODY Inc. http://www.socaltech.com/showjob.php?id=5602 Mid + Sr. Software Engineer, San Luis Obispo,, MINDBODY Inc. http://www.socaltech.com/showjob.php?id=5601 Senior Front End Engineer, San Luis Obispo,, MINDBODY Inc. http://www.socaltech.com/showjob.php?id=5600 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ RECENT FUNDING SUMMARY 11/21/14 Breezeworks $5.0M http://www.socaltech.com/intelligence/?action=showdeal&id=61127 11/21/14 PlutoTV $13.0M http://www.socaltech.com/intelligence/?action=showdeal&id=61126 11/20/14 FastPay $15.0M http://www.socaltech.com/intelligence/?action=showdeal&id=61047 11/20/14 BioNano Genomics, Inc $53.0M http://www.socaltech.com/intelligence/?action=showdeal&id=61045 11/19/14 Honk $1.8M http://www.socaltech.com/intelligence/?action=showdeal&id=61038 11/19/14 Carbonics $5.5M http://www.socaltech.com/intelligence/?action=showdeal&id=61037 11/18/14 Renova Therapeutics $7.5M http://www.socaltech.com/intelligence/?action=showdeal&id=61033 11/17/14 Metal Networks $5.0M http://www.socaltech.com/intelligence/?action=showdeal&id=61032 11/13/14 Scopely $35.0M http://www.socaltech.com/intelligence/?action=showdeal&id=61027 11/10/14 DogVacay $25.0M http://www.socaltech.com/intelligence/?action=showdeal&id=61021 11/06/14 FloQast $1.3M http://www.socaltech.com/intelligence/?action=showdeal&id=61017 11/05/14 Filmtrack $10.0M http://www.socaltech.com/intelligence/?action=showdeal&id=61015 11/05/14 Aggregage $1.0M http://www.socaltech.com/intelligence/?action=showdeal&id=61011 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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 4, San Diego -- CONNECT's Most Innovative New Product Awards. The Most Innovative New Product (MIP) Awards is where CONNECT continues its annual tradition in honoring San Diego’s celebrities of innovation along with groundbreaking new products launched within the last year. The MIP Awards is to San Diego’s innovation industry what the Academy Awards™ is to the movie industry. See http://www.socaltech.com/calendar/eventid/24333 December 4, Los Angeles -- Master of Science, Entrepreneurship & Innovation Information Session. Learn more about the USC Marshall MS in Entrepreneurship and Innovation (MSEI) at an info session on Thursday, December 4, 6:30-7:30 pm. The MSEI prepares you for opportunities in corporate venturing, technology commercialization and more. With full- and part-time options, the program gives you the flexibility you needNEW . See http://www.socaltech.com/calendar/eventid/24411 December 9, Irvine -- Holiday Tech Mixer & Toys for Tots. Join Orange County's LARGEST tech meetup for a night of networking, food, drinks, music and fun! Meet with new and familiar faces while making valuable connections within our tech community. We host FREE events every month that feature mixers, demos of the latest tech, and Tech Talks!NEW . See http://www.socaltech.com/calendar/eventid/24417 December 10, Santa Monica -- Bridging the 49th Parallel - Cross Border Business in British Columbia. Join us for a catered lunch as we discuss the benefits of US businesses having operations in British Columbia. The program will explore the economic incentives available to technology companies that are offered by the Government of British Columbia and by local authorities in Vancouver, how to access the programs and how to commence operations in BC. The program will also include first hand insights of companies that have opened a satellite office in British Columbia. Speakers include: Jonathan Friedman, Stubbs Alderton, Mikko Setala, Rovio Entertainment, Robert Wong, Creative BC, and Lui Petrollini, E&YNEW . See http://www.socaltech.com/calendar/eventid/24419 December 10, Los Angeles -- socalTECH50 and the Digital Family Reunion 2014. See http://www.socaltech.com/calendar/eventid/24237 December 10, Century City -- Startup Pitch Bootcamp with Adeo Ressi, CEO of the Founder Institute. If you have a strong idea that could be pitched more clearly, then join us for the Startup Pitch BootcampNEW . See http://www.socaltech.com/calendar/eventid/24416 December 10, Santa Monica -- TECH IN MOTION DEMOS & DRINKS. LA is home to some of the most innovative companies around. From on-demand drinks, makeovers and massages to live streaming events and social gathering, we will be featuring some of LA’s most innovative companies who will be on site demoing their tech-savvy products and apps. We will have plenty of drinks and light appetizers for your enjoymentNEW . See http://www.socaltech.com/calendar/eventid/24409 December 11, Santa Monica -- Cross Campus and the All B-School Happy Hour. Cross Campus and the All B-School Happy Hour Group are hosting another “Toys 4 Tots, Alcohol 4 Adults” charity holiday party for Silicon Beach! The holidays are a time to celebrate with family and friends and to be merry, so the more the merrier. Bring yourself, bring a guest and don’t forget to bring a toy, and join the fun with your Cross Campus and MBA familyNEW . See http://www.socaltech.com/calendar/eventid/24407 December 14, Santa Monica -- Career Counseling for Designers. General Assembly. Feeling fuzzy on your career options? Need some guidance? Come to GA on Saturday to chat with top designers on how they got to where they are today. We'll have plenty of drinks and snacks to go around while representatives from the following companies/organizations will be in attendance to provide you with one on one advice on the various career paths available to designers in Los Angeles. See http://www.socaltech.com/calendar/eventid/23845 December 14, Santa Monica -- StartupMind's Ugly Christmas Sweater Party. Come one, come all to the Ugliest Christmas Sweater party of the Season! Yes, that's right, right in the heart of Silicon Beach, it's StartupMind's Christmas party at Seasons 52 and you're all invited. We are participating in the Spark of Love Toy Drive and tickets are either $10 or free admission with the donation of a $10 brand new toy. It's an awesome way to help disadvantaged children experience a little brighter Christmas and give backNEW . See http://www.socaltech.com/calendar/eventid/24414 December 16, Irvine -- OC Tech Alliance Holiday Reception. See http://www.socaltech.com/calendar/eventid/24389 December 18, Santa Monica -- CONVERSATION W/ KEITH FERRAZZI AND NIR EYAL. Join us for a Conversation between Keith Ferrazzi and Nir Eyal, focusing on his new book Hoooked – How to Build Habit-Forming Products. In Hooked, Nir Eyal explores why some products capture widespread attention while others flop. Based on years of research and his class at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, Eyal has written the book he wished had been available to him as a startup founder—not abstract theory, but a how-to guide for building better products and technologies. Eyal’s four-step “Hook Model” details what’s required to build a habit-forming product that brings users back repeatedly, without relying on costly advertising or aggressive messaging. Hear Nir discuss and elaborate on these 4 steps live, during an in depth conversation with author and noted busines strategist Keith FerrazziNEW . See http://www.socaltech.com/calendar/eventid/24410 December 31, -- Heart to Heart: Building Emotional Connections with Consumers in the Automotive Industry. Wharton University. Presenters: Professor Patti Williams, John Mendel, and Vicki Poponi (WG’98). Increasingly marketers want to capture consumer hearts, build loyalty and brand love. Join us for a discussion about how emotions influence consumer decision making and specifically how Honda builds bonds with consumers. Vicki Poponi, Assistant Vice President of Product Planning, Honda, will discuss how Honda learns about consumers and strives to build emotions into the product design process. John Mendel, Executive Vice President, Honda will discuss how Honda uses marketing communications to spark consumer emotions. Wharton's Professor Patti Williams will discuss research on emotions and consumer decision making . See http://www.socaltech.com/calendar/eventid/23907 December 31, Santa Monica -- 409a Valuation. LA CFOs is a sponsor supported forum where CFO's of technology companies can come together to freely collaborate, learn and innovate, share expertise, ideas, and experiences in confidential, informal, non-threatening environment in order increase the efficiency and effectiveness of their role and enhance our value to our respective organizations. This month's topic is 409a Valuations, led by Eric Briggs, Silicon Valley Bank. This event is restricted to CFOs only. A confirmed reservation is required, others will not be admitted. Please contact [email protected] for an invitatio. See http://www.socaltech.com/calendar/eventid/24007 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Sponsored by: TVC Capital LLC (www.tvccapital.com) Investments in and Acquisitions of Growing Software Companies 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). SoCal-based executive search for emerging growth companies Binary Pulse Technology Marketing (http://www.binarypulse.com). We Create Demand for California's Technology Companies. Fetch Recruiting, Inc. (www.fetchrecruiting.com) Technical Recruiting for LA based Startups and High-Growth Companies Key info (http://www.keyinfo.com) infrastructure ~ connectivity ~ co-location ~ cloud PricewaterhouseCoopers (http://www.socaltech.com/pwc). Shimokaji IP (http://www.shimokaji.com) Bettering Life Through Creative Ideas 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. 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