Brainbase brings in $1 million; SongTradr makes acquisition; Virgin Hyperloop tests new transportation method

Brainbase Raises $1 Million Seed Round

The Business Journal reports Santa Monica-based intellectual property licensing startup Brainbase Inc. has raised a $1 million seed round led by Tera Ventures, an Estonian venture firm with U.S. operations based in Burbank. The raise will help fund Brainbase’s new product offerings, which include a brand licensing rights management platform called Brainbase Assist and a software platform called Marketplace, which allows companies to close new licensing deals and manage existing ones online.

Virgin Hyperloop Tests Pod Transport

Downtown LA-based Hyperloop Technologies Inc., doing business as Virgin Hyperloop One, is testing a new mode of rapid mass transit, according to the New York Times. In addition to Virgin Hyperloop One’s existing hyperloop research, the firm is now testing a system to move cargo and individuals in high-speed (up to 600 miles per hour) pods inside a vacuum tube. If Virgin Hyperloop can develop the tube successfully, it could offer transit at double the speed of today’s fastest known high-speed rail. To date, Virgin Hyperloop has raised $295 million and is in the development stages of projects in Ohio and India.

SongTradr Acquires Big Sync Music

Santa Monica-based music licensing platform SongTradr, announced Feb. 19 it acquired U.K. headquartered creative licensing outfit Big Sync Music Ltd. The Business Journal reports Songtradr did not disclose specific terms but it will inherit Big Sync Music’s clients, including Amazon.com Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.

Tech reporter Samson Amore can be reached at [email protected] or (323) 556-8335. Follow him on Twitter @samsonamore.