socaltech.com TechNews - Monday, January 4, 2016

Benjamin F. Kuo Mon, 04 Jan 2016 06:13:16 -0800

socaltech.com TechNews - Monday, January 4, 2016
Edited by Benjamin F. Kuo
ISSN: 1524-6736
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--What I Learned In 2015: Hamet Watt, Upfront Ventures
--Toyota Plans Artificial Intelligence Push
--PSI Services Acquires Applied Measurement Professionals
--Lyft Driver Killed In Hawthorne
--RFaxis Expands Product Line
--Flipagram: More Than 1,000 Verified Musicians Added In 2015
--What I Learned In 2015: Jeb Spencer, TVC Capital
--Sidecar Throws In The Towel
--What I Learned In 2015: Lawrence Ng, OnRamp Fund
--Surf Air: 2500 Members, 80 Daily Flights
--What I Learned In 2015: Arteen Arabshahi, Karlin Ventures
--Qualcomm Inks Chinese Patent License
--What I Learned In 2015: Lief Morin, KeyInfo
--OpenX Wins Canadian Customer
--What I Learned In 2015: Richard Wolpert, HelloTech

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What I Learned In 2015: Hamet Watt, Upfront Ventures
----
Over the last week or so, we've featured the reflections of our
readers on 2015 and what it has meant for Southern California's
technology industry. What was the biggest news for you or your firm
this year? Hamet Watt: Upfront Ventures raised a brand-new $300
million fund, Upfront V. (More...)
http://www.socaltech.com/what_i_learned_in_____hamet_watt_upfront_ventures/s-0063358.html

Toyota Plans Artificial Intelligence Push
----
Auto maker Toyota, which is headquartered in Torrance, says this
morning that it is announcing how it plans to leverage artificial
intelligence research in its next generation vehicles. Toyota, which
has not yet revealed the details of the announcement, said the effort
comes out of the Toyota Research Institute (TRI), a research and
development enterprise focused on artificial intelligence for
automobiles, robotics, and scientific discovery. Toyota said in
November that it will invest $1 billion over the next five years on
the R&D effort.

PSI Services Acquires Applied Measurement Professionals
----
Burbank-based PSI Services, a provider of professional testing
services, said this morning that it has acquired Applied Measurement
Professionals (AMP), a subsidiary of the National Board for
Respiratory Care (NBRC). Financial details of the all-stock deal were
not announced. PSI Services provides talent assessment testing for job
seekers, license testing for government regulatory agencies,
certification and credentialing services, and other related services.

Lyft Driver Killed In Hawthorne
----
A driver for ridesahring service Lyft was killed over the New Year's
holiday, after he was hit by a suspected drunk driver. According to
the Hawthorne Police Department, 21-year old Thor Anderson, a driver
for Lyft, was killed after his black Ford Fusion was broadsided by a
21 year old male driving a red Infiniti coup. Anderson was pronounced
dead on the scene of the crash by Los Angeles County Fire units.
Arturo Martinez Conchas of Hawthorne was arrested for vehicular
manslaughter, driving under the influence, and posession of illegal
drugs and booked into jail. Anderson's aunt has established a GoFundMe
account to help his family pay for the funeral and other expenses.
http://www.socaltech.com/lyft_driver_killed_in_hawthorne/s-0063359.html

RFaxis Expands Product Line
----
Irvine-based RF semiconductor developer RFaxis is expanding its
product lineup this morning, saying it has added a number of RF front
ends for the Internet-of-Things and Machine-to-Machine (M2M) market.
According to RFaxis, the new products, its RFX2403, RFX2413, and
RFX1030 RFeICs, support the sub-GHz and 2.4GHz frequency bands, and
are used for such areas as ZigBee, Bluetooth Low Energy, and other
protocols. The company says the new product will sample in Q1.

Flipagram: More Than 1,000 Verified Musicians Added In 2015
----
Los Angeles-based video story app developer Flipagram said Wednesday
that it added more than 1,000 signed, musical artists to its
"Flipagram Verified" platform, letting those artists make their music
available to Flipagram's users. (More...)
http://www.socaltech.com/flipagram_more_than_____verified_musicians_added_in____/s-0063357.html

What I Learned In 2015: Jeb Spencer, TVC Capital
----
Jeb Spencer: For TVC, closing on our new $115 million software focused
growth equity fund at the end of last year made for an exciting 2015.
We have added several well respected and experienced institutional
investors who (More...)
http://www.socaltech.com/what_i_learned_in_____jeb_spencer_tvc_capital/s-0063356.html

Sidecar Throws In The Towel
----
Sidecar, which was attempting to compete against Uber and Lyft in the
Los Angeles area, and recently switched over to focus on on-demand
delivery services, is shutting down, according to the company's CEO.
According to Sunil Paul, CEO of Sidecar, it will cease both ride and
delivery operations at 2PM Pacific Time on December 31st. Reason for
the shutdown was not given by Paul. Sidecar initially launched into
Los Angeles in 2013, into a crowded market which includes Uber, Lyft,
and a number of other less well funded competitors.

What I Learned In 2015: Lawrence Ng, OnRamp Fund
----
What was the biggest news for you or your firm this year? Lawrence Ng:
The big news for us was the launch of OnRamp Fund. Based in Los
Angeles and Taipei, Taiwan, it's a $10 million incubator that invests
in early stage startups. We enjoyed great success with our foray into
using
http://www.socaltech.com/what_i_learned_in_____lawrence_ng_onramp_fund/s-0063354.html

Surf Air: 2500 Members, 80 Daily Flights
----
Los Angeles-based Surf Air says it has now reached a total of 2,500
members at the subscription airline, double the number of members it
had last year. The startup also said it now has a total of 80 daily
flights between its 12 California destinations. Surf Air charges
$1,750 per month for its most basic subscription, although it is
planning to increase its subscription cost on January 1st. The details
came from an email to prospective customers from CEO Jeff Potter. The
numbers suggest the company has an annual run rate north of $52M. Surf
Air's service allows its members to fly unlimited flights between such
common destinations as Los Angeles, San Diego, and Silicon Valley; the
company has been catering to executives who frequently commute between
California's high tech centers.

What I Learned In 2015: Arteen Arabshahi, Karlin Ventures
----
Arteen Arabshahi: While Karlin Ventures has had an excellent first few
years as a firm seeing over 6 exits and making 40+ investments within
3 years, what was most exciting in 2015 was the addition of our third
team member, Erin Shipley. Erin
http://www.socaltech.com/what_i_learned_in_____arteen_arabshahi_karlin_ventures/s-0063351.html

Qualcomm Inks Chinese Patent License
----
San Diego-based Qualcomm announced this morning that it is in a patent
licensing deal with Chinese company QiKu Internet Network Scientific
(Shenzhen) Co., Ltd. According to Qualcomm, the licensing deal allows
QiKu to develop, manufacture and sell 3G WCDMA and CDMA2000, and 4G
LTE subscriber units for use in China. Financial deatils of the
license were not announced. QiKu is a joint venture of Qihu and
Coolpad.

What I Learned In 2015: Lief Morin, KeyInfo
----
What was the biggest news for you or your firm this year? Lief Morin:
For me, personally, it was participating in the Mongol Rally
adventure. A grand car rally across Europe and Asia with a buddy of
mine over the summer. The charity event is a 10,000-mile race in a
farcically small and junky vehicle, with the goal of
http://www.socaltech.com/what_i_learned_in_____lief_morin_keyinfo/s-0063349.html

OpenX Wins Canadian Customer
----
Los Angeles-based OpenX said Tuesday that it has signed a Canadian
telecommunications and media company, Quebecor, has a customer. OpenX
said Quebecor Media is using its Ad Server technology platform, to
manage and monetize its digital advertising inventory. Financial
details of the win were not disclosed. Quebecor's properties include
Canoe.ca, Elle Canada, and Elle Quebec.

What I Learned In 2015: Richard Wolpert, HelloTech
----
What was the biggest news for you or your firm this year? Richard
Wolpert: For HelloTech, we built our platform, launched a free friends
and family trial in May, went live to the public in June, raised a
$12.5M Series A round in September and are preparing for big expansion
next year. Certainly was enough to keep us busy. (More...)
http://www.socaltech.com/what_i_learned_in_____richard_wolpert_hellotech/s-0063335.html

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