Thursday, March 8, 2007Movie Gallery Buys MovieBeamAlabama-based Movie Gallery, a video rental firm that owns the Movie Gallery, Hollywood Video and Game Crazy video rental chains, said Wednesday that it has purchased all of the assets, technology, network operations, and customers of Burbank-based MovieBeam. According to Movie Gallery, initial acquisition cost and any ongoing development expenses for MovieBeam, will be less than $10 million in 2007. MovieBeam was developing a video-on-demand movie service based on broadband broadcasts. MovieBea (More info...)
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Demand Rolls Out Social Networking Tools For .TVSanta Monica-based Demand Media announced this week that it will give reseller of the firm's eNom wholesale web registry access to a new set of social networking tools. The firm said that eNom resellers will be able to offer Demand Media's social networking tools, free of charge, to customers who purchase .tv domain names. Demand Media is developing a media platform to create content and user-generated web sites.
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Geni Raises $10MLos Angeles-based Geni, an operator of an online, wiki-based geneaology web site for mapping your family tree, said Wednesday that it has raised $10M in additional funding from Charles River Ventures. As part of the funding, George Zachary of Charles River has joined the firm's board of directors. Geni has also received funding from the Founders Fund.
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Phenomix Raises $55M Series CSan Diego-based Phenomix, a company developing therapeutics for the treatment of type 2 diabetes, hepatitis C, and other diseases, said today that it has closed on $55M in a Series C funding. The funding was led by Nomura Phase4 Ventures, and also included existing investors JP Morgan Partners, Delphi Ventures, Baker Brothers, Alta Partners, Sofinnova Ventures, Bay City Capital, CMEA Ventures, Novartis BioVenture Fund and GBS Venture Partners. The funding will go towards clinical development of (More info...)
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Viva Vision Gets $5MSanta Monica-based Viva! Vision, a provider of mobile video programming and user-generated content, said Wednesday that it has raised $5M in a venture capital round. The funding came from Equal Elements. Viva Vision provides mobile content to BREW, J2ME, WAP, and other mobile devices, including original programming and user-generated videos.
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Eventful Ties In With Mandy MooreSan Diego-based Eventful, which operates the eventful.com calendar web site, has teamed up with Mandy Moore, an actress and pop singer as part of a promotional event. Eventful said that it will co-promote Moore's new album as part of an effort by Moore to connect with her fans, and will award a performance by Mandy Moore to a high school student at their graduation. The promotion comes as part of Eventful's new Eventful Demand service, which allows music fans to influence and request performers (More info...)
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Technology Council Names Award WinnersThe Technology Council of Southern California named its 2007 Technology Company of the Year Awards last night at the Millenium Biltmore in Los Angeles. Among the companies receiving awards were WebVisible, for Emerging Software Company of the Year; WebsideStory for Software Company of the Year; Occam Networks, for Network and Security Company of the Year; ViewSonic Corporation, for Hardware and Storage Company of the year; Oversee.net for Internet and New Media Company of the Year; and Broadcom, (More info...)
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X PRIZE Foundation Raises $2.7M At Google EventThe Los Angeles-based X PRIZE foundation said this week that it has raised more than $2.5M from its event last weekend at Google's headquarters in Mountain View. The event, which featured a live auction and a performance by comedian Robin Williams, and a stable of technology industry luminaries, went towards the nonprofit group's efforts to fund prizes for breakthroughs in medicine, healthcare, energy production and consumption, education and the automotive industry. The X PRIZE Foundation was b (More info...)
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