Hulu opens ad bidding; Calibrate Ventures completes inaugural fund; AppOnboard funding totals $35 million.
Calibrate Ventures Raises $80 Million
Fresh entrant to the Socal venture capital scene Calibrate Ventures announced Tuesday it raised its first venture capital fund, a total $80 million. Calibrate Ventures, based in Pasadena, was established in 2017 by Jason Schoettler, who previously served as managing director of Walnut-based Shea Ventures. The firm will invest in companies generating revenue between $1 million and $5 million, and currently counts Pasadena-based robotics outfit Embodied Inc. and Broadly Inc. among its five initial investees. Schoettler and his partner Kevin Dunlap led investments in $1 billion-plus exits including Santa Monica-based Ring Inc. and Dollar Shave Club Inc., according to Socaltech.
AppOnboard Closes $15 Million Series C
The Business Journal reports Sawtelle-based AppOnboard Inc. announced Dec. 11 it completed a $15 million Series C round, bringing its total funds raised in 2018 to $30 million and entire fundraising to $35 million. The company, makes software that allows users to try mobile games without a download and counts Culver City-based Jam City Inc. and Seriously Digital Entertainment, headquartered in Venice, among its local clientele.
Santa Monica-based streaming outfit Hulu will open a new private marketplace for ad agencies to programatically bid for video ad space on its live and on-demand TV inventory. Digiday reports the move is congruent with advertisers increasing their spend on closed, programmatic markets. On Dec. 4, Hulu Chief Executive Randy Freer said by end of 2018 it will have added over 3 million subscribers in six months.
