Search giant Google Inc. in feverish competition with rival Yahoo Inc. to provide innovative services has swallowed up another Los Angeles County tech firm.
This time it’s Santa Monica-based photo recognition outfit Neven Vision, which was acquired for an undisclosed price.
A photoshop firm with a background in biometrics, Neven Vision was founded in 2003 and now has customers including the United States government, the Los Angeles Police Department (for identifying gang members) and Coca-Cola (for mobile marketing campaigns).
In addition to Santa Monica, Neven Vision has offices in Japan, the United Kingdom, Singapore and Germany.
The acquisition has typified the Mountain View-based Internet company’s SoCal expansion over the past the past few years. They have included buys of:
-Santa Monica-based Applied Semantics, which turned into Google AdSense, in April 2003.
-Pasadena-based Picasa for photo management software in July 2004
-Newport Beach-based dMarc Broadcasting for the Google AdWords platform in January, 2006.
Meanwhile competitor Yahoo, which has a base in Santa Monica and a Hollywood presence for its entertainment properties, has picked up several local firms itself, including Santa Monica-based Geocities, which provides personal home pages, in January 1999; Santa Monica’s Launch Media, which later became a part of Yahoo Music, in June 2001; and Pasadena’s Overture Services, a Web advertising firm incubated by Idealab, in July 2003.
Baseline Goes East
Baseline Studio Systems, a Los Angeles-based Web site operator that supplies key information to studios and networks and additional star-driven material to consumer-oriented Web sites, was bought outright last week for $35 million by the New York Times Co. from Hollywood Media Corp.
The Times, which already owns similar Web sites such as about.com and bostonglobe.com was looking to diversify its revenue base.
“It’s something that fits very well with our areas of expertise,” said spokeswoman Catherine Mathis. “We have a strong position in the entertainment space. Many people consider us a trade and consumer vehicle.”
Meanwhile, Mitchell Rubinstein, chairman and chief executive of Hollywood Media Corp., said he was happy to find a buyer.
“The transaction strengthens Hollywood Media Corp.’s ability to focus on its remaining business units, including its core online consumer content properties Hollywood.com, roadway.com, theater.com and its interest in movieTickets.com,” he said.
Kodak Goes Digital
Kodak Digital Cinema, a Hollywood-based unit of Eastman Kodak Co., and National CineMedia are teaming up to train mom and pop theaters how to use digital cinema.
The companies have begun a collaborative arrangement to develop the next generation digital cinema theater management software. The software will be designed to integrate existing exhibition equipment, management systems and digital cinema system components from other manufacturers.
It also will allow theater owners to integrate all aspects of digital cinema with the business and operational requirements of exhibition, including show presentation, ticketing, feature and trailer scheduling, and more.
The software will be branded by Kodak, which, of course, will bring all of its Fortune 500 marketing prowess into a worldwide sales effort.
“(The software) is expected to help exhibition and studios more fully realize the potential of digital cinema,” said Bob Mayson, general manager and vice president of Kodak Digital Motion Imaging.
Anchors Aweigh
Anchor Audio Inc., a Torrance-based manufacturer of portable public address systems, upped its European presence with the sale last week of 110 units of its Minivox public address system to the Netherlands Railways.
The public address units, which reach crowds of 150 or more with 108 decibels of sound, help provide directions for stranded riders to areas of safety during accidents.
“Netherlands Railways needed something like a megaphone, but they also wanted the loudspeaker away from the face of the user so that she or she could see what was going on,” said Rob Rutten, a manager with Eurocase Audio & Media Products in Hertogenbosch, Netherlands.
The Minivox units are also being specially painted a tulip-like yellow to match the rail cards of the Netherlands Railways.
CipherPass Post-Its?
CipherPass Corp. a Santa Monica-based provider of digital security software, has teamed up in a mutual original equipment manufacturing deal with PostX Corp., the leader in encrypted mail communications for business and consumers.
The deal calls for CipherPass to embed Post X’s Messaging Application Platform into its C-Suite security software as an optional upgrade for sending secure messages to users who do not have a digital ID.
Staff reporter Dan Cox can be reached at (323) 549-5225, ext. 230, or at [email protected].
