It’s a classic tale of redemption. After going bankrupt in 2019, MoviePass is set to relaunch with co-founder and original CEO Stacy Spikes leading the charge. There are a lot of reasons things will be different this time around, Spikes says, including the eventual rollout of an advertising component.
Here’s today’s AdExchanger.com news round-up… Want it by email? Sign up here. Reddit, Set, Go That plucky startup Reddit picked up $410 million in new venture funding from Fidelity, and may raise as much as $700 million in a new round valuing the company at $10 billion, The Wall Street Journal reports. The company raised about […]
Here’s today’s AdExchanger.com news round-up… Want it by email? Sign up here. ePainfully If legitimate interest is disallowed as a provision for targeted advertising by the EU’s ePrivacy law, which expands on GDPR regulations, it could cause a 70% reduction in display ad revenue in Europe and a 33% cut in digital ad budgets, according to […]
Is opportunity fading for ad tech startups to go public or be acquired at a healthy premium? The answer is no, at least not for everyone, said Elgin Thompson, managing director of the technology investment advisory firm Digital Capital Advisors, at AdExchanger’s PROGRAMMATIC I/O in San Francisco last week. A look back at IPO filings […]
Like the rarely seen zedonk (half zebra, half donkey), agency-led VC is an odd little hybrid — a sometimes-awkward marriage of investing and marketing services. But the genre has staying power. Investing arms within WPP Group, Publicis Groupe (VivaKi Ventures), Interpublic Group, and MDC Partners are all notable players that have been researching and making […]
‘Tis the season for predictions, so AdExchanger reached out to members of the venture capital community for their opinions on what’s in store for 2014. Click below to read “the bets” or scroll for more: Jeff Crowe, managing partner, Norwest Venture Partners Seth Levine, co-founder and managing director, Foundry Group Roger Ehrenberg, founder and managing […]
Location-based startups that allow advertisers to personalize their offers and provide other customized services are quickly becoming a highly lucrative space. Google recently bought Waze, the geography-based navigation application, for approximately $1 billion and Foursquare is exploring an IPO. Panelists Matt Turck, managing director of First Mark Capital, and Ben Siscovick, a former partner of […]
Customer data and analytics company dunnhumby today launched dunnhumby Ventures, a seed-stage strategic investment fund aiming to ferret out the innovators in the commerce startup space. According to Dave Balter, global head of investments at dunnhumby, “we have some goals we’re trying to hit, [which is to fund a] range of 10 companies a year […]
Gil Beyda is Founder & Managing Partner at Genacast Ventures. His firm’s investments have included Invite Media (acquired by Google in 2010) and Demdex (acquired by Adobe in 2011). AdExchanger asked Mr. Beyda to explain a fundraising tactic increasingly used by advertising technology startups known as an “inside round.” In venture capital, an “inside round” […]
The digital video ad market has been on fire with annual double-digit growth for the last four years. A sampling of headlines from the past week shows the heat is continuing into 2013: Tremor Video filed with the SEC to go public, a consortium of video ad rivals formed a group to promote a single […]
The venture capital community convened for the annual VentureCrush event in New York City today, featuring a gaggle of venture celebrities. Several of the VCs hailed from firms active in the ad tech space, such as Accel Partners (investors in Krux, MoPub, MyThings, etc.), Greycroft (33across, TagMan, Collective) and Sequoia Capital (HubSpot, Drawbridge, Chartboost). Of […]
Two years into their existing partnership, ad holding company Interpublic Group is making an unspecified investment in Kiip, a company that promises to connect marketers and consumers through the use of “unexpected” targeted rewards to mobile app users and gamers. Apart from help in continuing to build the San Francisco startup, Kiip co-founder and CEO […]
The last time AdExchanger spoke with First Round Capital partner Chris Fralic in May 2011, Fralic indicated that “hot deals” were getting done faster and valuations were skyrocketing. He warned, “The negatives to be on the lookout for are down rounds as things cool off – it’s not fun…” As the innovation of ad technology […]
Satya Patel has a long history in the advertising technology world on both the product and venture capital sides, including roles at Google/DoubleClick and Battery Ventures. Most recently, Patel worked at Twitter as its VP of Product until June of this year. Today, he’s looking ahead to a startup of his own, offering only a […]
Bipul Sinha saw the early days of the latest ad tech era when he helped lead investment in ad verification firm DoubleVerify on behalf of Blumberg Capital in 2008. In 2010, Sinha moved to Lightspeed Venture Partners (LSVP) where ads remain a focus and companies such as news aggregator Pulse, social ad platform MyLikes, and […]
Chris Moore is a partner with Silicon Valley-based Redpoint Ventures, a venture capital firm. As his bio states on the Redpoint website, he serves on the board of a variety of ad technology companies including BlueKai, eBureau (owners of TruSignal), Inadco and Intent Media. Moore led Redpoint’s past investments in companies such as Right Media […]
Seth Levine is a co-founder and managing director of Foundry Group, an early stage technology venture firm based in Boulder, Colorado. Levine recently discussed his firm and ad tech trends with AdExchanger. AdExchanger: I realize there’s still time, but how are we doing with your prediction for 2012: “the year of programatic guaranteed”? SETH LEVINE: […]
Kiran Hebbar is a General Partner at Valhalla Partners. As part of his responsibilities pertaining to his venture firms investments, he serves as a director on the boards of Adaptly, display ad marketplace Legolas Media and PlaceIQ among others. AdExchanger followed up on our conversation with Hebbar last year to get his views on industry […]
As founder and managing partner of early-stage investment firm Genacast Ventures, which was established in 2008, Gil Beyda has accredited himself well in a relatively short period of time. With prescient investments in Invite Media (bought by Google in 2010) and Demdex (acquired by Adobe in 2011), Beyda has been no stranger to the VC […]
“Data-Driven Thinking” is a column written by members of the media community and containing fresh ideas on the digital revolution in media. Terence Kawaja is Founder and CEO at LUMA Partners, a boutique investment bank focused on the digital media sectors. Ad tech is over. The landscape is overcrowded, venture capitalists have moved on, and […]
Nobody was talking investment or tech bubble at Lowenstein Sandler‘s annual Venture CrushNY Event which took place in New York City’s Edison Ballroom today. The venture capital community came together for a discussion of its world as well as a review of several hot startups. Ed Zimmerman of law firm Lowenstein Sandler was emcee and […]
Jerry Neumann is a partner in Neu Venture Capital, a New York City-based seed-stage investor group with investments in 33Across, Metamarkets, PerformLine, The Trade Desk, Optim.al, Media Armor, and Yieldbot among others. Jokes all start with one of a few stock set-ups. “A man walked into a bar.” But the punchlines are all different. VC […]
Jeff Crowe is Managing Partner of Norwest Venture Partners (NVP). NVP’s portfolio includes companies such as Admeld, Brand.net, Turn, Komli, Kayak and SocialVibe. AdExchanger.com: Recently it was announced that Google will buy NVP portfolio company Admeld pending regulatory approval. What intrigued you about Admeld initially? And, beyond a successful exit, what is it that Admeld […]
David Pakman is a Partner at Venrock, a venture capital firm. AdExchanger.com: Hypothetically speaking, what do you think the experience of being a venture capital investor affords you should you decide to get back into a startup of your own? DP: Well, the best experience for building startups is doing startups, so nothing will prepare […]
Kiran Hebbar is General Partner of Valhalla Partners, a venture capital firm with investments in such companies as JumpTap, Legolas and TidalTV among many others. AdExchanger.com: How did you get started in the venture biz? KH: I was the first person in my family to go to college and am very achievement oriented. I have […]
Chris Fralic is Managing Partner of First Round Capital, an early-stage investment company. In an update of his interview a year ago, Fralic recently spoke to AdExchanger.com about the investment climate and the digital advertising ecosystem. AdExchanger.com: In retrospect, what has surprised you about last year’s acquisition of Invite Media by Google? CF: I’m impressed […]
Kirshenbaum Bond Senecal & Partners of agency holding company MDC Partners announced the launch today of its new investment initiative known as kbs+p ventures which will “seek to invest in early- and mid-stage companies that focus on advertising and mobile technologies and design,” according to The New York Times’ Tanzina Vega. Read more. kbs+p’s chief […]
Seth Levine is a co-founder and managing director of Foundry Group, an early stage technology venture firm based in Boulder, Colorado. AdExchanger.com: Why get into the venture capital side of the business? Do you ever get the entrepreneurial “itch”? SL: I first got into venture capital about 10 years ago and I love my job. […]
Dan Boberg is President of Tallwave, a digital business accelerator. AdExchanger.com: Where do you see Tallwave fitting in the venture capital, angel and seed investing world? Is it competitive to these silos? Is it similar to Betaworks, for example? DB: Tallwave is a digital business accelerator that combines traditional consulting practices and start-up incubation services […]
Andrew Weissman is founder and COO at Betaworks, which invests in and operates Internet and digital media companies. AdExchanger.com: There’s been a lot of good buzz about Betaworks recently. Why do you think that’s the case? AW: Luck? Right time at the right place? Our companies speak for themselves; to the extent there is attention […]
