Zaniac: After-school education program company Zaniac of Salt Lake City will open a location in Santa Monica next month. The company uses robotics and the video game Minecraft to teach kids about science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

U.S. Army: The United States Army is opening a research and development outpost in Playa Vista. About 70 researchers will study robotics, virtual reality and data analysis within USC’s Institute for Creative Technologies.

Hollar: Online discount retailer Hollar of Santa Monica has launched. Founded by Honest Co. Chief Executive Brian Lee and former Vice President of Marketing David Yeom, the startup aims to put the dollar store online, albeit most items cost $2.

AwesomenessTV: “Jersey Shore” stars Snooki & Jwoww are launching a show on Nov. 13 about their lives as moms, which will be produced by AwesomenessTV of West L.A. The “Snooki & Jwoww: Moms With Attitude” show will air on Verizon’s new Go90 mobile video app.

Goldstar: Online discount ticketing company Goldstar of Pasadena has launched a news feed. Goldstar members can use it to discover events their friends are attending, as well as favorite venues, artists and reviews.

Connectivity: Burbank’s Connectivity, a customer review management company, has launched a customer intelligence and marketing automation platform called Customer Insights. The software allows brick-and-mortar businesses to analyze customer data and market to customers who interact with their business.

Seedling: Children’s toy maker Seedling of Beverly Hills launched a new mobile game called Scavenger Bingo. In the game, kids go on a real-world scavenger hunt while tracking progress on a digital bingo board.

Technology reporter Garrett Reim can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @garrettreim for the latest in L.A. tech news.