A weekly roundup of must-read L.A. tech investments and acquisitions.
$34 million
Type: Equity
Location: Venice
Investor: The round was led by Chernin Group, with participation from Advancit Capital, Allen & Co., Breyer Capital, Broadway Video Ventures, Deerfield Management, Freelands Ventures, William Morris Endeavor, actress Jessica Alba, actor Jared Leto, television host Ryan Seacrest and LinkedIn Chief Executive Jeff Weiner.
Description: Founded in 2010, Headspace had previously raised $5.45 million in debt and equity. Its app provides interactive guides to different meditation techniques. It also has a catalog of live events, books and podcasts. A monthly subscription to the app costs $12.95, a yearly subscription $94.99. The company said it has 3 million users, but declined to say how many are paying subscribers.
$16 million
Type: Equity
Location: Venice
Investors: Webedia
Description: Moviepilot is a website that allows fans to write and share movie-focused content. The site has 25 million unique visitors a month and will use its investment cash to add original video content and expand its focus to video gaming. The Series B investment values the site at about $50 million, though Chief Executive and co-founder Tobi Bauckhage said the company is not yet profitable.
$12.5 million
Type: Equity
Location: West L.A.
Investors: Led by Madrona Venture Group with participation from Upfront Ventures, CrossCut Ventures and Accel Partners
Description: HelloTech is an in-home technical support company focused on customer service. Its workforce is comprised of college students working on a contract basis. Already operating in Los Angeles, it will be using its investment to expand its service to Orange County. A rapid multi-city expansion is planned for 2016.
Undisclosed
Type: Acquisition
Location: Venice
Acquired company: Nirvana Digital
Description: Content network and agency Zealot purchased Indian multichannel network Nirvana Digital as part of an effort to extend its reach overseas. Nirvana’s main source of revenue is advertising from a collection of 250,000 videos on YouTube. The multichannel network also distributes some content outside of YouTube and will be producing more original content.
Undisclosed
Type: Acquisition
Location: Sherman Oaks
Acquired company: Warner Bros. digital distribution division
Description: Privately held Vubiquity distributes, licenses and formats video content for streaming, pay-per-view, video-on-demand and traditional television broadcasts. Vubiquity will use Warner Bros.’ digital content service to expand its content management and distribution capabilities.
Technology reporter Garrett Reim can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @garrettreim for the latest in L.A. tech news.
