Online education site Udacity announces in-person study sessions in LA
Online education company
has announced it will begin offering in-person study sessions at physical locations in three cities, including Los Angeles. According to test sessions, Udacity Nanodegree students accelerated their learning, tripling graduation rates. LA’s meet-up location will be in Santa Monica. [
Udacity Connect]
El Segundo-based Prodege buys MyPoints
, the South Bay rewards company acquired rewards site MyPoints.com from United Online Inc. for $13 million. The expansion will further Prodege's online shopping rewards venture Swagbucks, which currently boasts 19 million registered members. [
Prodege Buys MyPoints for $13 Million: LA Business Journal]
Woodland Hills-based BlackLine named one of 50 fastest-growing women-owned/led companies
Woodland Hills-based
was named number 7 on Women Presidents' Organization's "50 Fastest-Growing Women-Owned/Led Companies" list. Run by CEO Therese Tucker, the financial software company has made the list's top-20 for the last five years. [These Are the 50 Fastest-Growing Women-Owned Businesses: San Fernando Valley Business Journal]
Honest Company reportedly considering sale
e-commerce site Honest Co. is reportedly considering a sale based on weak tech company valuations recently. The Playa Vista company had been considering going public for several years, and recently took meetings with representatives from Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Morgan Stanley. [Honest Co. Reportedly Considering Sale: LA Business Journal]
Fundings of the Week
Investors: PayPal, Rakuten Fintech Fund
Irvine-based micro-investing app Acorns announced a $30 million round of financing Thursday. The round will go towards helping the company expand partnerships and growing its automated investment features. [
PayPal leads $30 million round in Acorns investing app: TechCrunch]
Investors: Darr Aley (former director of M&A at Amazon) and Michael Klein (former San Diego Charger owner) as well as the United Talent Agency's Peter Benedek (Partner), Jeremy Zimmer (CEO) and Jim Berkus (Chairman).
Giftagram, a Santa Monica and Toronto-based app announced its latest round of funding on Tuesday. The company raised $3.2 million from a group of tech and angel investors in the U.S. and Canada. The app, which allows users to select curated gifts from a host of popular brands, launched in the U.S. in December.
Investors: General Catalyst Partners, Dag Ventures, Mayfield Fund, Benchmark and Tenaya Capital.
Brighter, a marketplace that rates dentists, lists co-pay rates, and schedules appointments announced that $21 in financing. The Santa Monica-based company expects to expand sales and customer services representatives with the funds. [
Dentist Marketplace Brighter Raises $21 Million: LA Business Journal]
, Undisclosed
Investors: Home Box Office, Discovery Communications
OTOY, an LA-based company that provides cloud-based graphics rendering technology announced that it has received funding from HBO and Discovery Communications. The size of the investment was not announced by the company, which is reportedly working with Jon Stewart on upcoming content for the network. [
OTOY Gets Funding from HBO, Discovery: SoCal Tech]
