Tuesday, September 23, 2014

9.23.14

Entertainment:
·         MGM has acquired a majority stake in Mark Burnett’s reality TV production company
·         BBC has acquired a 35% stake in Lookout Point
·         “Shark Tank’s” Kevin O’Leary has signed with UTA
·         John Krasinski has sold two comedies to NBC
·         Maker Studios has signed an exclusive deal with MiTu to create original branded Hispanic content
·         Paula Deen has confirmed that she is launching her own subscription based digital network
·         Redbox could be in disarray as a fleet of studio deals are all set to expire in the next seven months
·         Variety will publish ListenFirst’s list of Digital Audience Ratings (DAR) every week – Jimmy Fallon is at the top
Tech:
·         Square is making register software that takes Bitcoin and Apple Pay
·         One of Microsoft’s former top engineers has founded Talko, a collaborative talking tool focused on the business world for users operate in group conversations
·         Students at the Arhaus University have developed a robot that evaluates the taste/dryness of wine
·         Apple plans to shut down Beats Music
·         Instagram has begun rolling out sponsored ads in the UK
·         Grantoo has raised $3.5MM to focus on providing multiplayer gaming for mobile game developers, and has rebranded itself as Fuel
·         theAmplify, a LA-based startup, has announced a new Instagram video ad service
·         Vidible, a startup video syndicator, has hit 1 billion streams per month
·         Sony’s Playstation TV set-top box will be sold in stores on Oct. 14th for $99.99
·         YouTube now has ‘real-time’ stats for your videos
·         Please see below for a list of ranked streaming music services by paid subscribers – Spotify is at the top
·         Responsive Design, allows designers and developers to build websites to adapt to every screen size, is one of the most empowering web tools in the last decade
·         Please see below for a video of Masdar City, a planned self-sufficient/carbon-neutral metropolis that will house 10,000 people
·         Polaroid is launching a $99 Cube that is aimed for kids who can’t afford GoPros
·         Roughly 46% of iPhone devices are using iOS 8
Deals:
·         ZEFR, a video monetization platform, has acquired Engodo, a social advertising startup
·         Adobe has acquired Aviary, a photo-editing platform
·         Silver Lake to lead the acquisition of Shutterfly, the online photo sharing service
Business:
·         Tiger Global Management is beginning to raise a new $1.5B fund
·         Jimmy Choo is planning to pursue an IPO later this year in London, and is planning to sell at least a 25% stake in the new holding company
·         Alibaba underwriters raked in nearly $300MM in fees after completing the biggest IPO in history
·         Alibaba’s Jack Ma is now China’s richest person with a net worth of roughly $25B
Exec Moves:
·         All3Media’s CEO left the company due to the Discovery and Liberty Global acquisition
Retail:
Startups:
·         Waypoint 2 Space is a startup that prepares potential space tourists for their trip, and it uses technology and training methodologies that NASA astronauts receive
·         Invoice2go, an Australian mobile invoicing app, raises $35MM and has hired former eHarmony Exec, Greg Waldorf, to be its CEO
·         ironSource, an Israeli company that has built a suite of solution to help app and software developers distribute and monetize their work, has raised $85MM to expand overseas
·         Gametime, a last minute sports ticket sales app, has raised $4MM from Accel Partners
·         SilverCar, an airport car rental service, has raised $14MM from Eduardo Saverin and Velos Partners in its Series B
Government:
·         US has bombed Syria
·         The Ebola outbreak might reach 1.4 million people by Jan. 20th
Other:


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