A weekly roundup of L.A. tech company and product launches.
Hulu: Television streaming platform Hulu of Santa Monica is reportedly launching an advertising-free version of its paid streaming subscription. The move would align Hulu’s service with ad-free Netflix and Amazon Prime Instant Video, albeit at a much higher cost of $12 to $14 a month.
Movieclips: Fandango subsidiary Movieclips, an online movie trailer distributor, has been granted residency at YouTube Space L.A., YouTube’s production studios in Playa Vista. The residency comes as West L.A.’s Movieclips prepares to launch its own movie news show named “Movie3Some.”
ZestFinance: Hollywood’s ZestFinance, a machine-learning driven underwriting service, is launching an online consumer lending business for those with sub-prime credit. The business unit, named Basix, will provide unsecured personal loans for three-year terms at fixed annual percentage rates from 26 percent to 36 percent.
Green Dot: Pre-paid credit card company Green Dot of Pasadena is launching Green Dot Shanghai. The company will be based in a 24,000-square-foot facility in Shanghai and will focus on supporting and developing for Green Dot’s online banking platform in the United States.
Buddytruk: Santa Monica’s Buddytruk, an app that connects people with trucks to people who need help moving large items, has launched a partnership with Target. App users can have large items picked up from Target and delivered to their homes on the Westside and San Fernando Valley within an hour.
Brentwood Home: Mattress company Brentwood Home of downtown Los Angeles has launched an e-commerce site. The website will sell the manufacturer’s mattresses directly to consumers less expensively by cutting out middleman retailers.
Instamotor: San Francisco’s Instamotor, an online used car marketplace, launched in Los Angeles. The website runs free recall and fraud checks, as well as providing a Carfax Report, on vehicles listed on the site. Started in San Francisco three months ago, the company said it has already sold 1,000 cars.
Technology reporter Garrett Reim can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @garrettreim for the latest in L.A. tech news.
