StartUp Beat

7/31/07 – A day before its scheduled service shutdown, the assets of bankrupt mobile virtual network operator Amp’d Mobile have been acquired by Prexar Mobile, a company managed by Oakland-based USA Telephone.  Prexar says it will ensure uninterrupted wireless service for Amp’d customers.

The company says Amp’d customers transitioning to Prexar can “for the most part” continue to use their existing mobile phones, and will be able to choose from a suite of calling and text messaging plan options.

The purchase brings to a close a company that had raised more than $360 million in capital, gained a significant subscriber base, and even developed full-length original content, but collapsed under financial mismanagement.

Amp’d Mobile – www.ampdmobile.com

Other stories on the Amp’d Mobile bankruptcy:

Amp’d Mobile to Shut Down, Sell Assets

Amp’d Mobile Settles with Verizon Wireless

Amp’d Mobile’s Lifeline Extended

Amp’d Mobile Founder’s High-Flying Commute

Adderton Leaves Amp’d Mobile

Can Amp’d Mobile Survive?

Amp’d Mobile Files for Chapter 11 Protection

Posted by startupbeat at 09:42 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

7/31/07 – ThisNext.com, a Los Angeles-based social product discovery and recommendation web site, has announced the appointment of Internet marketing and e-commerce veteran Rob Goldman to its board of directors.

Goldman was involved with the establishment of Shopping.com, holding an early position as vice president of business intelligence leading up to eBay’s acquisition of the company. 

ThisNext is a social product and discovery site that utilizes experts, bloggers and regular consumers to personally endorse and recommend products to site users.

ThisNext’s board also includes Sumant Mandal, managing director at Clearstone Venture Partners; Todd Jerry, partner with Anthem Ventures; Jason Calacanis, co-founder of Weblogs and CEO of Mahalo.com; and Gordon Gould, co-founder and CEO of ThisNext.

The company was founded in 2005 by Gould and CTO Craig Ogg.

ThisNext – www.thisnext.com

Posted by startupbeat at 09:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

7/31/07 – Westlake Village-based Xirrus, the provider of high-performance, long-range wi-fi products, announced another major wi-fi network deployment, this time at all of the 55 schools in the Boulder Valley School District in Colorado.  The district services more than 28,000 students supported by 4,200 employees, according to Xirrus.

Xirrus says the deployment is part of an overall infrastructure upgrade that includes a high speed wide area network, voice-over-IP implementation, and a video distribution system, allowing educators to further enrich the district’s curriculum through distance learning, e-learning and the distribution of educational video content directly to students using laptops in the classroom.

The company was founded in 2004 by former Xircom executives and is backed by investors that include U.S. Venture Partners and August Capital.  The Boulder Valley deployment is the 13th major deployment this year for Xirrus.

Xirrus – www.xirrus.com

Posted by startupbeat at 09:36 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

7/30/07 – Monrovia-based FastSoft, developer of products that accelerate the transfer of data on the Internet, today announced the general availability of a new version of its flagship Aria appliance.  Aria is a box that, when connected to a network, addresses the problem of Internet file transfer inefficiency without having to modify applications or load software—resulting in increased speed and quality of Internet transmission, according to the company.

Called the Aria 2000, FastSoft says the upgraded version supports clientless Internet acceleration on line speeds up to 1gbps.  The product is targeted at companies that depend on the transfer of large files for mission-critical business processes, like video and design files.  FastSoft says the Aria 2000’s price starts at around $80,000.

FastSoft grew out of Caltech and its Office of Technology Transfer, where the company’s “FastTCP” technology was developed.  For the past four years, FastTCP was used to break the world record for the fastest sustained data transfer rates at the Supercomputing Network Bandwidth Challenge.

The company is backed by Miramar Venture Partners and recently closed its series A round of funding.

FastSoft – www.fastsoft.com

Posted by startupbeat at 08:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

7/30/07 – Westlake Village-based Inphi has announced that it will collaborate with AMD for the development of Inphi’s server memory interface solutions family.  Founded in late 2000, Inphi designs and develops integrated circuits for processing high-speed digital data in computing and communications systems.

The companies say that through the collaboration, Inphi is contributing to AMD’s efforts in providing a memory interface solution, which will scale to address future memory architecture requirements driven by the addition of more processor cores.

Inphi Corporation – www.inphi-corp.com

Posted by startupbeat at 08:14 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

7/27/07 – Irvine-based LogicalApps this week announced the formation of a strategic alliance with PricewaterhouseCoopers, LLP.  LogicalApps, which provides embedded governance software for enterprises, says the deal includes joint offerings from the firms that will allow both to provide software and implementation services to clients.

Through the alliance, PricewaterhouseCoopers will provide advisory services to help organizations optimize their approach to governance, risk and compliance.  The companies will also jointly provide solutions for the continuous monitoring of financial transactions with preventative and “detective” controls, helping ensure that established business processes and policies are being enforced, alerting management in real-time of deviations from these policies, and helping to improve the efficiency of the financial organization and business operations.

LogicalApps – www.logicalapps.com

PricewaterhouseCoopers – www.pwc.com

Posted by startupbeat at 07:23 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

7/27/07 – Buzznet, a Hollywood-based social networking startup focused on music, announced this week that it has hired former Feedster president Tyler Goldman.

The company, founded in 2005, recently raised a $6 million round of financing led by Redpoint Ventures and Anthem Venture Partners. 

Buzznet – www.buzznet.com

7/26/07 – Transpera, a Santa Monica-based mobile video startup, this week announced its official formation and the availability of its service.

Transpera says it helps businesses create mobile video content and generate new revenue.  The Transpera system gives consumers a seamless experience between online and mobile screens, according to the company, where they can get personalized alerts and recommendations as the system learns their preferences and tailors content channels to match.

The functionality is delivered by the company’s mobile video delivery and advertising platform-called the Transpera Bridge System.  The Bridge System allows online publishers and mobile operators to deploy mobile video services, monetize those services with advertising and subscriptions, and tie web and mobile video experiences together.

The company is led by wireless content industry veteran Frank Barbieri, and backed by First Round Capital, IDG Ventures and Intel Capital.

Transpera – www.transpera.com

Posted by startupbeat at 05:41 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

7/25/07 – Row44 is an interesting startup based in Westlake Village that hopes to bring broadband Internet service to airliners.  The concept has been attempted before to a limited extent by Boeing, but after the shutdown of that service, Row44 is taking its shot at the market.  The company is using the Hughes satellite network to offer a full plate of in-flight services that includes broadband Internet and live IP-based TV.

Row44 was founded by John Guidon, formerly founder and CEO of Comcore Semiconductor, and Gregg Fialcowitz, formerly co-founder of Aprisa.  The company says it offers “true” broadband connectivity for a broad range of aircraft types and sizes.  The system provides data rates up to 81 mbps from the satellite to the aircraft and 1.6 mbps uploads, according to the company—roughly equivalent to a home cable modem or DSL connection.

Another offering the company is bundling with the service is operational data services for airlines for flight operations, including weather updates and cabin surveillance, cabin crew services, and cargo services, like passenger bag matching and luggage tracking.  

A major value proposition of Row 44’s service is that its equipment is lightweight and, according to the company, simple to install and maintain. Major components include a low-profile antenna mounted to the top of the fuselage.  To distribute a wi-fi signal, two or more wireless access units are placed in the airplane cabin.

Row44 has been privately funded to this point.

Row44 – www.row44.com

Posted by startupbeat at 07:13 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

7/25/07 – As rival mobile service provider Amp’d Mobile shuts down, Los Angeles-based mobile virtual network operator, or MVNO, Helio continues to launch new services for its customers.  This time it's access to Microsoft Outlook through its Ocean device, which the company says lets users wirelessly synchronize email, calendar and contacts from their company’s Microsoft Exchange Server.

Helio says the service, not surprisingly called "Mail for Microsoft Exchange," uses the Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync protocol to allow remote synchronization and access to corporate Exchange Server features.

The company says it also plans to launch Helio File Viewer in conjunction with the Outlook service.  When available, the File Viewer will allow users to view Microsoft Office-based documents.

Helio is making Mail for Microsoft Exchange available for $9.99-per-month, with a 60-day free trial to start.

Helio, founded in 2005, is a joint venture of Atlanta-based Internet service provider EarthLink and South Korea’s SK Telecom.  

Helio – www.helio.com

Posted by startupbeat at 07:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

7/25/07 – Westlake Village-based Xirrus, provider of high-performance, long-range wi-fi products, today announced another deployment of its Wi-Fi Arrays product, this time at multiple motorsport venues across the United Kingdom.  The deployment was completed in conjunction with UK-based MotorSport Vision Ltd.

The deal was made through Xirrus reseller Wireless LAN Source.  This is the 12th new major deployment of the Wi-Fi Arrays since January. 

The company was founded in 2004 by former Xircom executives and is backed by investors that include U.S. Venture Partners and August Capital.

Xirrus – www.xirrus.com

Posted by startupbeat at 07:08 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

7/24/07 – Just days after revealing that it would be shutting down as early as today and selling its assets, Los Angeles-based wireless service provider Amp’d Mobile now says in a customer FAQ that it won’t shut down until July 31st.  In addition, multiple sources report that the company’s network service provider and largest creditor, Verizon Wireless, will allow the company to continue to serve customers for another week—the date its assets are reportedly set to be auctioned.

Reports also say that the entire operation will be sold off, including its Amp’d Canada and Japan businesses, and its content properties.

For more on Amp’d’s bankruptcy, see:

Amp’d Mobile to Shut Down, Sell Assets

Amp’d Mobile Settles with Verizon Wireless

Amp’d Mobile’s Lifeline Extended

Amp’d Mobile Founder’s High-Flying Commute

Adderton Leaves Amp’d Mobile

Can Amp’d Mobile Survive?

Amp’d Mobile Files for Chapter 11 Protection

Posted by startupbeat at 08:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

7/24/07 – Demonstrating the strength of the technology community in greater Los Angeles, the region once again made a strong showing in the Ernst & Young and Dow Jones VentureOne quarterly venture capital report.

Los Angeles was again second only to Silicon Valley in terms of VC financing, with $167 million raised in the second quarter in information services companies.  In comparison, Silicon Valley pulled in $262 million.  In all sectors, greater Los Angeles, which the report defined as Los Angeles, Santa Barbara and Ventura counties, received $459 million for the three-month period, up from $182 million last year.

Details of the last E&Y Dow Jones VentureOne report.  

Posted by startupbeat at 08:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

7/24/07 – Westlake Village-based Inphi today announced that Young K. Sohn has been named the company’s CEO.

Sohn was most recently president of Agilent Technologies’ semiconductor group.  Prior experience also includes a stint as chairman and CEO of Oak Technology, a digital media semiconductor company, and co-president of Quantum Corporation, a data storage solution products manufacturer.  In addition, Sohn founded and built Intel’s Korea business and managed the Samsung-Intel strategic partnership.  He also started the company’s PC chipset business unit while at Intel.

Inphi chairman Dado Banatao cited Sohn’s experience with the Asian market as particularly attractive to Inphi, because of the companys emergence in that region.

Inphi, which was founded in late 2000, designs and develops integrated circuits for processing high-speed digital data in computing and communications systems. 

Inphi Corporation – www.inphi-corp.com

Posted by startupbeat at 08:40 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

7/23/07 – In the concluding act of a spectacular flameout, Los Angeles-based mobile service and content provider Amp’d Mobile will shut down and sell off its assets, after the company was unable to secure financing to see it through the chapter 11 reorganization process.  Officially, Amp'd has told customers that it is “potentially suspending U.S. operations on July 24th.”

Amp’d is a mobile virtual network operator, or MVNO, meaning that the company buys wholesale network service from a cellular network operator and offers value-added service on top of the basic phone service.  In Amp’d’s case, the company leased space on Verizon Wireless’s network, and focused on entertainment services for the youth market. 

Last week, Verizon Wireless moved to cut off Amp’d’s access to its network, saying in a court filing that it was costing $370,000-a-day to keep Amp’d’s basic service running.

In terms of next steps, Amp’d said in its Q&A for customers that it is “currently in discussions with several parties” about a sale of its assets.

Amp’d Mobile – www.ampdmobile.com

Other stories on the Amp’d Mobile bankruptcy:

Amp’d Mobile Settles with Verizon Wireless

Amp’d Mobile’s Lifeline Extended

Amp’d Mobile Founder’s High-Flying Commute

Adderton Leaves Amp’d Mobile

Can Amp’d Mobile Survive?

Amp’d Mobile Files for Chapter 11 Protection

Posted by startupbeat at 09:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

7/23/07 – Los Angeles-based LeadPoint, an online leads exchange marketplace, announced today that it has hired former LowerMyBills executive Steve Horton as general manager of its consumer lending category.  The company says he will focus primarily on driving further growth of the vertical by developing product enhancements to build upon the company’s mortgage lead trading engine.

LeadPoint runs a dynamic trading platform that features a pay-for-performance model in consumer lending, credit, automotive lending and business services.  It says it currently has more than 1,500 active customers.

The company was founded in 2004, and its investors include Redpoint Ventures and European Founders Fund.

LeadPoint – www.leadpoint.com

Posted by startupbeat at 09:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

7/23/07 – Newport Media, the Lake Forest-based fabless semiconductor company focused on the mobile broadcast media market, today unveiled what it says is the world’s first complete single-chip solution for the mobile version of Japan’s Integrated Services Digital Broadcasting-Terrestrial, or ISDB-T, digital television standard.  The solution serves as a digital TV receiver that integrates a tuner, demodulator and all required memory in a single device.

The company says it will also serve as the foundation for future solutions aimed at other popular air interface standards including Terrestrial-Digital Multimedia Broadcasting and MediaFLO.

Newport Media says volume production is scheduled to begin in the fourth quarter of this year.

Newport Media – www.newportmediainc.com

Posted by startupbeat at 09:36 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

7/23/07 – Thousand Oaks-based MyNextDeal.com, a vertical search engine for commercial real estate listings, announced today that the company has signed what it describes as a “listing distribution” agreement with the Florida Real Estate Journal.  MyNextDeal says it will deliver for sale and for lease commercial property listings across all U.S. geographies to Florida Real Estate Journal readers.

The publication, which says it has a readership of 20,000, provides statewide coverage of the Florida commercial real estate markets.

The companies say they expect the listings to be live by September.

MyNextDeal says it features more than 400,000 commercial property listings, and recently launched a job board for commercial real estate professionals on the site.

MyNextDeal – www.mynextdeal.com

Florida Real Estate Journal – www.frej.net

Posted by startupbeat at 09:34 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

7/20/07 – Los Angeles-based Passenger, also known as “Think Passenger,” and Oversee.net have been chosen by AlwaysOn as AO 100 Top Private Companies for 2007.  The fifth-annual AO100 list is made up of peer-nominated companies, and was compiled by AlwaysOn's editorial panel.

Companies on the list will be honored at the AlwaysOn Stanford Summit, a popular tech executive gathering, later this month at Stanford University.  AlwaysOn says that the idea behind the AO100 top private companies list is “to identify the most promising entrepreneurial opportunities and investments in the global technology industry.” 

Passenger has developed a social networking platform that enables brands and customers to collaborate within a private online community.  Founded in 2005, the company says its customers include brands such as Coca-Cola, ABC Television and Sara Lee.

Oversee.net is the Los Angeles-based online media company that runs domain acquisition, monetization and online marketing services businesses.  Oversee was founded in 2000 by entrepreneurs Lawrence Ng and Fred Hsu, and is a frequent winner of this type of award for its exceptional growth.

The full list of the AlwaysOn Top 100 Private Companies can be found at: http://alwayson.goingon.com/permalink/post/15899

Passenger – www.thinkpassenger.com

Oversee.net – www.oversee.net

AlwaysOn – alwayson.goingon.com

Posted by startupbeat at 09:11 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

7/19/07 – Another twist was added to the Amp’d Mobile bankruptcy saga yesterday, as Verizon Wireless filed a petition in Amp’d’s bankruptcy case to allow Verizon to stop providing access to its network.  Earlier this month the court ruled that Amp’d could continue to have Verizon provide its network service during chapter 11 reorganization contingent upon a $2.5 million payment to the cellular operator.  Prior to its bankruptcy filing, Amp’d owed Verizon approximately $41 million for network service.

Reports now say that Amp’d is still racking up huge bills since filing for bankruptcy, including $370,000-a-day just on Verizon’s network services.  On top of that, one report surmised that based on court filings, Amp’d will have only $9,000 in the bank as of next week.  Verizon Wireless is now asking for permission to pull the plug on Amp’d’s network unless it obtains a loan to finance its bankruptcy case and reorganization.

Amp’d, a mobile virtual network operator, or MVNO, buys wholesale network service from Verizon and offers value-added service on top of the basic phone service.

Before its bankruptcy filing, Amp’d raised more than $360 million in capital—the most of any recent startup in Southern California. 

Amp’d Mobile – www.ampdmobile.com

Other stories on the Amp’d Mobile bankruptcy:

Amp’d Mobile Settles with Verizon Wireless

Amp’d Mobile’s Lifeline Extended

Amp’d Mobile Founder’s High-Flying Commute

Adderton Leaves Amp’d Mobile

Can Amp’d Mobile Survive?

Amp’d Mobile Files for Chapter 11 Protection

Posted by startupbeat at 08:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

7/19/07 – As Amp’d Mobile’s woes continue, the other big Los Angeles-based MVNO startup, Helio, today announced the launch of its enhanced MySpace on Helio service.  Helio said the mobile-specific application was designed from the ground up by the company and is available exclusively on Helio’s Ocean device.  The announcement further positions Helio as a leader in mobile social networking, following on the heels of the launch of Helio’s two-click mobile video uploads with YouTube.

Helio says the new application, available at no additional cost to its “All-In” members, lets users edit profiles and integrates with Helio’s free media sharing service, Helio Album, which allows the sending of picture messages, comments and bulletins directly from the application.  Members are also able to take advantage of the Ocean’s integrated 2 megapixel camera to shoot photos, automatically upload them and instantly post them to MySpace, on their profile or in a blog entry.

The Ocean is what Helio is calling its “flagship device”— a dual slide phone with two full keypads, a large QVGA screen, GPS, built-in instant messenger and email access, and one-click Internet search.  The phone has garnered numerous positive reviews since its debut earlier this year for its unique design and functionality.

Along with the MySpace announcement, Helio said it continues to see average revenue per user at between $90 and $100 per month, which is significantly higher than the mobile industry average.  This is no doubt the strongest metric of Helio’s business, and what may ultimately propel the company to profitability in a difficult industry for startups.

The company also said its members generate over 550 text messages per month on average, and 90 percent of members access the web through their mobile device versus an industry average of 13 percent.

Helio is a joint venture of Atlanta-based Internet service provider EarthLink, and South Korea’s SK Telecom.  The two companies announced earlier this month that they were increasing their investment in Helio by a combined $200 million.

Helio – www.helio.com

MySpace.com – www.myspace.com

Posted by startupbeat at 08:13 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

7/18/07 – Bid4Spots, the Encino-based online auction of radio ad time, says it experienced a 300 percent increase in activity during June, and has now signed up nearly 1,800 advertisers and agencies to its reverse auction.

Bid4Spots makes available to advertisers prime, last-minute inventory from approximately 2,400 participating radio stations in all 300 top-ranked Arbitron markets, according to the company.  Bid4Spots recently announced that it is powering the new eBay Media Marketplace for Radio.

Founded by radio ad industry veteran Dave Newmark, Bid4Spots is privately held.

Bid4Spots – www.bid4spots.com

Posted by startupbeat at 07:59 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

7/18/07 – Monrovia-based MeziMedia announced this week that it has been acquired by Westlake Village-based online advertising company ValueClick.  MeziMedia runs the Smarter.com comparison shopping and CouponMountain.com online coupon web sites.

Founded in 2001, MeziMedia employs 160 people in its Monrovia headquarters and offices in Shanghai, China, and Tokyo.  In addition to its shopping web sites, MeziMedia developed a proprietary search engine marketing, or SEM, platform, along with expertise in search engine optimization and SEM.

The companies say that under the terms of the agreement, ValueClick will acquire all outstanding equity interests in MeziMedia for approximately $100 million in cash at the time of closing, and contingent cash consideration based on revenue and ad performance from the closing date through December 31, 2009.  The companies say total cash consideration will range between $100 million and $352 million, depending on whether performance thresholds are met.

MeziMedia – www.mezimedia.com

ValueClick – www.valueclick.com

Posted by startupbeat at 07:56 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

7/18/07 – Reports have surfaced that the debut of the ModBook tablet computer, made by El Segundo-based Axiotron, has been delayed.  The ModBook is much anticipated because it will be the first Macintosh-based tablet computer.

Originally expected to debut in May, Axiotron says the ModBook is now delayed until the fourth quarter of this year.

Axiotron was founded in 2005 by Andreas Haas and Dr. Kumiko Haas, and is privately held.

Axiotron – www.axiotron.com

Posted by startupbeat at 07:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

7/18/07 – Valley Village-based eJamming, which has developed an online music collaboration service, is hosting online karaoke sessions tonight to demonstrate its technology.

eJamming says its “music technologist” John King will host the sessions for singers and players over the eJamming AUDiiO system.  Details can be found at eJamming’s web site.

The company was founded last year by entertainment-industry veterans Gail Kantor and Alan Glueckman, and was part of this year’s DEMO class.

eJamming – www.ejamming.com

Posted by startupbeat at 07:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

7/17/07 – Los Angeles-based Oversee.net, an online media company that runs domain and online marketing services businesses, today announced it acquired over $7 million in domain portfolios during May, with a total of 66 domain portfolio acquisitions in the last ten months.

The company says it is accelerating its buying program even further in the third quarter of this year, actively seeking to increase its acquisition targets.

Oversee has become a top player in the portfolio acquisition market.  Domain portfolios are collections of revenue-generating domains or domains with revenue potential.  The company says its internally-created acquisition process allows it to move swiftly from the offer stage, through documentation and funding, to integration, in about seven days. Oversee says it plans to continue its acquisition program and be a viable source of liquidity for domainers who have developed domain portfolios.

The company’s domain services business is built around its DomainSponsor subsidiary, where it helps customers monetize domain names.  It says its own portfolio now includes 600,000 domain names which it auctions through another subsidiary, SnapNames.com, which it acquired in June.

In addition to its domain services businesses, Oversee also offers marketing services in specific vertical markets, including mortgages and travel through its sites Low.com and Lowfares.com.  The company employs more than 200 working out of its downtown L.A. headquarters and offices in Portland, Ore., and San Mateo, Calif.

Oversee.net – www.oversee.net

Posted by startupbeat at 08:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

7/17/07 – Interneer, the Culver City-based creator of software that allows companies to configure web-based applications with integrated workflow without programming, has announced the hiring of two executives to oversee sales and marketing.

Jack Karabees, previously an executive vice president of sales and operations at Hudson Capital, has been named vice president of sales, and Patricia Spencer, an executive at GroundWork Equity, one of Interneer’s primary investors, has been named vice president of marketing.

Interneer says its flagship Instant Application Platform, or IAP, allows businesses to design, configure and deploy scalable solutions through a point-and-click environment, hosted online or installed on-site.

Interneer was founded in 1998, and last month announced $2 million in funding from GroundWork Equity and the appointment of GroundWork managing partner Michael Edell as CEO.

Interneer – www.interneer.com

Posted by startupbeat at 07:58 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

7/17/07 – Irvine-based Axiom Microdevices, which develops fully-integrated complementary metal oxide semiconductor, or CMOS, power amplifiers for cell phones, has relocated to an expanded headquarters at the Irvine Business Center.

Last month, Axiom announced that it had shipped its millionth power amplifier product.  In addition to its Irvine headquarters, the company says it also has sales offices in the United Kingdom, China, Taiwan and South Korea.

Axiom Microdevices – www.axiom-micro.com

Posted by startupbeat at 07:56 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

7/16/07 – Pasadena-based myShape.com has announced the closing of a series B round of funding led by Draper Fisher Jurvetson.  MyShape is an online apparel e-commerce site for women, which offers customers “personal” shopping that it says is tailored to individual styles and body types.

MyShape CEO Louise Wannier says the funding will go toward expanding the site’s reach globally.

In addition to the financing, myShape has added several new board members.  Phil Schlein, a retail industry veteran, investor in online companies like iVillage and partner with U.S. Venture Partners; Draper Fisher Jurvetson director Emily Melton; David Berkus, chairman emeritus of the Tech Coast Angels; and Peter D. Whitford, the former president worldwide of the Disney Store and former chairman and CEO of The Wet Seal have all joined the myShape board of directors.

The company was founded in 2004 by Wannier.

myShape – www.myshape.com

Posted by startupbeat at 07:53 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

7/16/07 – Los Angeles-based online video streaming web site Stickam has been a center of controversy over the past week after New York Times reporter Brad Stone wrote about ties between Stickam’s parent company and a company that runs adult web sites.

The article was prompted by the accusations of a former Stickam vice president, who alleged that the site’s parent, Advanced Video Communications, or AVC, is affiliated with a company that operates a network of pornographic web destinations.  Alex Becker, the former Stickam executive, told Stone that AVC and the pornography sites share office space, employees and computer systems.  He also alleges that the sites use the same live webcam technology used on Stickam’s site.  Stickam is geared toward teenagers and young adults.

There has been considerable response to the story on various news web sites and blogs—both outrage that a site popular with young people that features live web cams would have any ties with pornographic web sites, and those who point out that the ties alleged by Becker are tenuous.  It should be noted that like almost every other web site involving social networking, Stickam has an “abuse report” procedure, available on its home page, along with specific information in its Terms of Service about parental control options, restrictions on posting content, an express statement that “Sexually explicit content is strictly prohibited on this website,” and the fact that Stickam will report traffic data and personal information of members “who Post sexually explicit material … for the unlawful transmission of sexually explicit material to minors.”

Although it is a complex situation, it is clear that as the “social” Internet becomes more interactive and popular, companies will need to do a better job of addressing these types of issues.  MySpace and other social sites have dealt with the issues of content and minors ever since inception, and there is no doubt that there will be more to come in the future about the Stickam controversy and this topic in general.

Stickam – www.stickam.com

Posted by startupbeat at 07:49 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

7/13/07 – Lionsgate Entertainment said this week that it has invested $21 million in Los Angeles-based online video site Break.com.  Lionsgate, based in Vancouver, did not disclose the terms of the deal, but reports indicate the investment gives Lionsgate a 42 percent stake in the company.

The companies said that as part of the investment, Lionsgate will be able to distribute its content and promote its movies on Break’s web site.

Break.com is very clearly targeted at young males, highlighting features like “Girl of the Day” in addition to its video sharing service.  The company was actually founded in 1998 as “Big-Boys.com,” survived the collapse of the Internet bubble and is emerging as a significant player in the very active online video segment.

This is the second major online video content announcement this week involving local companies.  On Wednesday, Los Angeles-based Spot Runner and the United Talent Agency launched content firm 60Frames Entertainment.

Break.com – www.break.com

Lionsgate – www.lionsgate.com

Posted by startupbeat at 09:08 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

7/13/07 – Los Angeles-based MyMedicalRecords.com, which provides web-based personal health records services, announced this week that it has integrated the Cerner Multum Drug Content Database into its web site, giving its subscribers access to detailed information on over 20,000 prescription and over-the-counter drugs.

The company says it is also making an abridged version available to non-subsribers who visit MyMedicalRecords.com.

The database links to a prescription list in each user’s account, and users can click on any entry to get comprehensive information on that drug, or obtain a complete list of interactions, according to the company.  The system automatically checks for interactions with all drugs entered in their prescription list and reports on potential threats between multiple medications.

The site already includes features like calendar reminders for prescription refills, doctor appointments and medications that are integrated with Microsoft Outlook, a family medical history database and a special emergency log-in portal that allows medical personnel to access vital information about a subscriber, such as blood type, allergies and medical history.

The company says that at the core of the service is a document management and communications platform that allows doctors to fax medical and personal health records such as lab test results and immunization reports into a user’s account, through a secure process.  Images such as x-rays, scans and MRIs can be uploaded directly from the computer desktop, allowing users to efficiently and confidentially manage their health records in a personalized filing cabinet, according to the firm.

MyMedicalRecords.com – www.mymedicalrecords.com

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