Virgin Hyperloop One gains $172 million; Crackle reports first quarter earnings; Quibi plans $1 billion raise

Virgin Hyperloop One Raises $172 Million

Hyperloop Technologies Inc., doing business as Virgin Hyperloop One, raised $172.2 million of a planned $224.7 million equity funding round May 13, the Business Journal reports. The raise brings Virgin Hyperloop One’s total cash raised to roughly $459.2 million. Filings indicate $52.5 million of the funding round remains to be sold.

Quibi Seeks $1 Billion for Content Acquisition

Short-form video streaming service Quibi has already raised $1 billion since its August 2018 inception and looks to raise $1 billion more. The Verge reports Quibi’s $2 billion budget still pales in comparison to competitor Netflix Inc.’s budget, which totaled $12 billion last year for content acquisition and production.

Crackle Reports First Quarter Earnings

Culver City-based streaming network Crackle Inc. released earnings for the first time since its 2007 founding. Crackle is owned by Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment and Sony Pictures Television as part of a joint venture called Crackle Plus established in March 2019. Crackle’s revenue totaled $11 million for first quarter 2019 and CSS Entertainment expects that to more than double, Variety reports. CSS Entertainment noted in its quarterly filing it expects Crackle Plus to have 26 million monthly users and more than 90 content partnerships.

Tech reporter Samson Amore can be reached at [email protected] or (323) 556-8335. Follow him on Twitter @samsonamore.