Silicon Beach Report July 19: Snapchat Confirms Bitstrips Acquisition

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Snapchat confirms Bitstrips acquisition, Hyperloop One hits back at former executives, DreamWorks inks virtual reality deal, and more.

Snapchat Confirms Bitstrips Acquisition

Snapchat of Venice has confirmed that it has acquired Bitmoji app maker Bitstrips of Toronto, the L.A. Business Journal reports. The deal was a mix of cash and stock valued “in the ballpark” of $100 million, reported Fortune when the news broke in March. At the time, Snapchat declined to comment.

Hyperloop One Hits Back at Former Execs in Latest Court Filing

A week after being sued by four former company executives, next-gen transportation firm Hyperloop One struck back asking for $250 million in damages from what it’s calling the “Gang of Four,” reports the L.A. Business Journal. The cross-complaint claims former chief technology officer and co-founder Brogan BamBrogan and three other high-ranking employees breached their fiduciary duties to Hyperloop One and broke several contractual covenants with their actions.

Facebook’s Head of Advertising Knocks Snapchat

Facebook’s head of ad tech sales criticized Snapchat’s low-data approach to advertising at Sharethrough’s Native ad conference on Tuesday, reports TechCrunch. Once Snapchat leaves the “experimental budget phase” in the mind of marketers it will find that its clients want more data-based performance features and accountability, he said.

Barstool Sports Hires Female CEO

Much criticized Barstool Sports of Santa Monica, a raunchy men’s website, has hired Erika Nardini, former chief marketing officer of AOL, as its chief executive, reports Variety. The site’s content includes sports gossip and photo galleries of scantily clad women. It seeks to emulate the vulgar sports conversations that male fans have among themselves at home, in stadiums and athttp://variety.com/2016/digital/news/erika-nardini-barstool-sports-chernin-1201817333/ bars. Peter Chernin’s tech investment firm Chernin Group of Santa Monica took a 51 percent stake in the company for an undisclosed amount in January.

DreamWorks Inks Virtual Reality Deal with Digital Domain

DreamWorks Animation of Burbank has signed an undisclosed deal with Digital Domain Holdings of Hong Kong, parent of visual effects house Digital Domain, to produce virtual reality content around its most popular animated characters, the Hollywood Reporter reports. The companies will soon produce content with characters from the film franchises of “Shrek” and “Kung Fu Panda.”

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