J2 Doubles Digital Media Business With IGN Entertainment Acquisition
On Monday J2 announced that Ziff Davis has acquired IGN Entertainment, a source for video game news and reviews, from News Corp. for an undisclosed price.
TED Conference Leaves Long Beach for Vancouver
The TED Conference announced Monday that it is moving from Long Beach to Vancouver next year.
Ellie Launches With $2 Million in Funding
Ellie, the latest e-commerce company to come out of Mike Jones’ incubator Science Inc., has created a hybrid subscription service for women who want to buy high-end workout clothing without the high-end prices.
Start Engine Graduates Fourth Class of Startups
Demo-day season in Los Angeles continued Wednesday with the unveiling of the latest companies from Westwood accelerator Start Engine.
Ad Tech Firm Opens U.S. Headquarters in Pasadena
Glow Digital Media, a London ad tech company, announced Thursday that it is opening its U.S. headquarters in Pasadena.
Marina Del Rey Startup Helps Retailers Tap Into Social
Since launching publicly last spring, Social Annex says it now reaches more than 500 million consumers and drives more than $10 million in new revenue for its clients each month.
Rubicon Project Preps for Growth With Executive Appointments
As Rubicon Project looks to add more than 100 new employees this year and expand its business through mergers and acquisitions, the company has added two new executives with longtime technology experience.
GOOD Worldwide Hosts Hiring Contest
After the five-week Coding for GOOD contest, GOOD named its winner Monday afternoon. Brian Bonus, a Los Angeles television editor, has been offered a full time engineering position with the company.
Jody Sherman, Ecomom Founder and L.A. Entrepreneur, Dies at 47
The Los Angeles tech community is mourning the loss of entrepreneur Jody Sherman. Sherman, the founder and chief executive of Ecomom, a site for selling healthy children’s products, passed away Monday, according to a Facebook post from his wife Kerri. She gave no cause of death.
Belkin Grows Home Network Business With Linksys Acquisition
Los Angeles is known for its ecommerce and content companies, but the city’s consumer electronics industry just got a little bigger. Playa Vista consumer electronics manufacturer Belkin International Inc. announced late Thursday that it has acquired Linksys, the home networking unit of Cisco Systems Inc.
Gobbler Raises $1.5 Million
Chris Kantrowitz cleared out his bank account in 2010 and went into business with his sister, Kristen, to develop Gobbler, a software platform for storing and sharing music files through the cloud. The product has become so popular with musicians that Gobbler announced Thursday a $1.5 million funding round led by One Republic singer and songwriter Ryan Tedder, musician and actor Jared Leto and music manager Troy Carter.
THQ’s Auction Ends in Division of Assets
Bidding for the assets of bankrupt video game publisher THQ ended Wednesday and resulted in a piecemeal sale of the company’s main titles and studios.
Extreme Music Launches Music Editing Tool
A Santa Monica music company is hoping that an expansion into music technology hits the right note with customers. Extreme Music, which has a library of original music that it licenses for films, television shows, commercials and video games, announced Wednesday the launch of its music editing tool, called Customix.
THQ Assets Up for Auction
Video game titles and development studios from bankrupt publisher THQ could have a new home by the end of the day Tuesday after the auction of the company’s assets.
Buzzmedia Bolsters Video Content With 'The Daily Buzz'
Hollywood has been buzzing about web video as companies move into town to produce shows specifically for YouTube. Now Buzzmedia, a Hollywood blog network focused on celebrity and music news, is swarming into the space as well.
Eric Lidow, Co-Founder of International Rectifier, Dies at 100
Eric Lidow, the co-founder and former chairman of El Segundo semiconductor manufacturer International Rectifier died Friday, according to the company. He was 100.
Online Ordering System Hopes Eateries Take Bytes
INTERNET: Investors fill ChowNow’s plate with $3 million in funding.
ChowNow gets funding and seeks to get restaurants to add its online ordering system to the menu.
JustFab Acquires FabKids to Expand Into Children’s Clothing
When Adam Goldenberg co-founded subscription ecommerce site JustFab, he admittedly didn’t have much fashion experience. But with the El Segundo retailer’s latest acquisition, Goldenberg is working in his wheelhouse. Goldenberg, a father of two, announced Friday that JustFab has acquired children’s ecommerce service FabKids for an undisclosed price.
OpenX Raises $22 Million for Mobile Expansion
As more people turn to mobile phones and tablets to access the Internet, advertising is making the move to mobile. So Pasadena ad exchange OpenX has raised $22.5 million in an effort to expand its mobile advertising offerings.
MuckerLab Startups Present at Second Demo Day
It was graduation day Wednesday for the second startup class from Santa Monica accelerator MuckerLab. A group of 10 startups presented at MuckerLab’s demo day, hoping to attract the eye of investors and other industry insiders.
ChowNow Raises $3 Million
Competition in the food ordering and delivery space is heating up. ChowNow, a Santa Monica startup that creates online and mobile ordering platforms for restaurants, announced Wednesday that is has raised $3 million in funding led by local venture capital firm GRP Partners.
Siemer Ventures Announces 2012 Investments
Siemer Ventures, the venture capital arm of Siemer & Associates, has announced that it grew its portfolio by 24 companies last year.
Disney Interactive Launches Multi-Platform Game Concept
Could Disney character Captain Jack Sparrow beat Pixar character Buzz Lightyear in a sword fight? Fans of the Disney and Pixar movies could soon find out by playing on Disney Interactive’s newest game platform, Infinity.
Ross Levinsohn to Lead Hollywood Reporter Parent Company
Longtime L.A. tech executive Ross Levinsohn has been named chief executive of Guggenheim Digital Media, the new parent company of the Hollywood Reporter.
Crowdsourcing Startup Raises $15 Million
Rob Salvatore and his business partners were running their own production company in the mid-2000s when they realized that there had to be an easier way to get projects produced and distributed.
Start Engine Accelerator Expands Downtown
When Start Engine went looking for a second L.A. location, it only had to go 11 miles down Wilshire Boulevard.
Eight Over 80: Gene-Lebell
Not even age could slow down Gene LeBell’s adrenaline-fueled career.
Startup Launches to License Film Scores
Los Angeles has become a hotbed for music startups in recent months, and now another company is making its debut. Score Revolution launched Friday as an online catalogue for licensing original film scores.
L.A. Companies Showcase at CES
The Consumer Electronics Show wraps up its week-long festivities Friday in Los Vegas. For those who weren’t able to wander the showroom floor to check out the cutting-edge technology, the odd inventions and the booth babes, here’s a rundown of some L.A. companies that made an appearance.
InMarket Selected for Snack Food Marketing Program
Venice mobile marketing startup inMarket has caught the attention of candy and snack food giant Mondelez International.
Local Firm Starts 3-D TV Subscriptions
Three-D television hasn’t exactly taken off with consumers, but a Westchester company is ready if it does. DDD USA Inc. – which develops technology to automatically convert 2-D photos, videos and video games into 3-D – has launched a subscription service for consumers who want to watch 3-D shows on their TVs.
ShoeDazzle Adds Celebrity Stylist Rachel Zoe
ShoeDazzle is adding an extra dose of reality star power to its executive lineup. The Santa Monica online retailer announced Wednesday that it has appointed celebrity stylist and reality TV star Rachel Zoe as its chief stylist.
FreedomPop Partners with TextPlus
Two L.A. telecom startups have joined forces to take on Internet and cell phone service providers.
Elections, Hurricane Sandy Boost CallFire Business
CallFire, a Santa Monica telecom startup, announced Monday that it saw revenue growth in 2012 driven by two big events in 2012, Hurricane Sandy and the national election.
Demand Media Buys Name.com
Demand Media is preparing for the surge in new domain names that will become available later this year with its acquisition of domain registrar Name.com.
Mobile Dating App Hopes It Has Romance’s Number
INTERNET: Tinder links to users’ Facebook pages to weed out phony profiles.
Tinder hopes to make a move on the Internet dating market with a mobile app linked to Facebook accounts.
Video Producer Cuts Staff in Shift Into Distribution
YouTube channel Machinima cuts staff as it shifts focus away from original content.
Clawing Way To Success?
Couple brings bayou taste of La. to L.A. with crawfish chain.
Hot N’ Juicy Crawfish co-owners look to get Angelenos to shell out for a taste of Louisiana crustaceans.
THQ Files for Chapter 11, Plans To Be Acquired
Agoura Hills video game publisher THQ Inc. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Wednesday as part of an acquisition.
Coda Automotive Lays Off 50
Electric car maker Coda Automotive has laid off about 50 employees.
Acquisition Adds Value for Semtech
SEMICONDUCTORS: Shares of Camarillo firm rise on increased revenue.
Healthy third quarter revenue powers up shares of chip maker Semtech.
Technology Firms Look to Bloom Beyond Seed Funding
INVESTMENT: Lack of series A money may pinch growth plans.
Later-stage tech firms have rooting interest in finding financial support beyond seed funding.
Web-Surfing Site Hopes To Get Shoppers to Buy In
INTERNET: Swagbucks extends reward system to e-commerce partners.
Rewards-for-surfing website Swagbucks looks to catch rising tide of online shoppers.
Kidding Around on Vacations
MiniTime lets parents plan getaways based on age of children.
Co-founders of dating site now make time with family vacation-planning business.
Notes For Notes
INTERNET: Chromatik took cues from high schoolers in test of musicians’ app.
Chromatik turned to high schoolers for help grading the performance of its musical app.
‘Black Ops 2’ Bright Spot In Slow Video Game Year
ENTERTAINMENT: New ‘Call of Duty’ rings up $500 million for Activision.
Activision remains a video game industry hotshot as it scores again with this year’s “Call of Duty” release.
The Week’s Big Movers
The Los Angeles Business Journal’s index of largest public companies closed down for the week amid broader market fears about potential tax increases and budget cuts that would send the country over the “fiscal cliff.”
City National Announces Special Cash Dividend
City National Corp. announced Thursday that its directors have declared a special common stock cash dividend for the fourth quarter.
Hot Topic Shares Rise
Shares of teen retailer Hot Topic Inc. rose nearly 6 percent Thursday after the company reported a spike in net income for the third quarter.
Survey: Small Business Owners Somewhat Optimistic
Despite concerns about the overall health of the economy, small business owners are optimistic about the growth of their companies, according to a report released Thursday from Bank of America.
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