THE URBANTECH

Start Up ZeeTV is not just another media box, or set top box maker. The start-up company just announced a box that will allow users to broadcast high-def web video and other computer content to any HDTV in the house.

The box hooks to the monitor output of your computer, broadcasts to an HD channel called Zv, and then streams via the cable wiring in your home. It’s like adding a new channel to your cable lineup. The company says this technique opens up a whole new category of content delivery, dubbed “localcasting.”

To put it simply, the ZVBox allows you to connect your desktop pc to evey TV in the house by creating its own channel (RF) that is picked up by the tuner which is built in your TV set already.

Here a little info to help you get a clear picture:

-PC’s content transported over VGA which is then sent through your coaxial cabling to every Tv in your home

-VGA pass-through ensures your PC monitor continues to operate normally

-Audio (Including Dolby Digital 5.1) is inputted via USB

-No equipment is needed at the TV end for reception; all signals are recieved from the TV’s QAM-capable internal tuner

The ZvBox is now available exclusively at Amazon.com. It began shipping on June 30.

http://www.zeevee.com

Microsoft throws it’s weight behind Semantic light wieght, POWERSET.COM
Powerset has been closely watched as a potential challenger to Google because of its search engine’s ability to understand both the meaning of search queries and the language of a Web page in order to match the two together. Google has generally eschewed natural-language search in favor of its search engine based on search keywords.

http://www.powerset.com
http://www.microsoft.com

France, Samsung Brings RFID Co’s Series C Round To $42M
Inside Contactless SA, a mobile-payment company that makes radio frequency identification chips for cellphones and debit cards, has extended its Series C round to $42 million after the venture arm of a top handset maker expressed a keen interest in the French company’s technology.
http://www.insidecontactless.com

Birmingham, Software Maker Daxko has raised $7.75M To Serve YMCAs
Daxko Inc., a provider of on-demand software to nonprofits, has received a $7.75 million investment from private equity firm Frontier Capital.
http://www.daxko.com

France, Steek Stores loads $8M for online storage service
Steek SA, a French provider of web based storage software, has secured an $8 million second financing round from AGF Private Equity and return investor Innovacom.
http://www.steek.com

Cupertino, ForeScout Tracks Down Insiders For $8M Round
Network security company ForeScout Technologies Inc. has raised an $8 million insider round of funding as we go into the slow season of investing.
http://www.forescout.com

San Jose, Agiliance Complies With $10M Series B
Agiliance Inc. has raised a $10 million Series B financing round led by Castile Ventures.
http://www.agiliance.com

Stockholm, Insiders Deliver $41M To PacketFront
Fiber-to-the-home technologies provider PacketFront Systems AB has raised a $41.25 million (insider) round to expand into new markets.
http://www.packetfront.com

Shanghai, SocNet 51.com Takes $51M From Giant
Five One Network Development Co. Ltd., which runs Chinese social network 51.com, has agreed to $51 million in funding from China-based game developer Giant Interactive Group Inc.
http://www.51.com

San Jose, Cisco raises the stakes for BRIC Investments, VC’s trailing close behind
Cisco first invested $60 million in Almaz Capital Russia Fund I LP. The firm hopes to add more capital to this fund, and officially close on an unspecified target by the end of the year. “The thing about Cisco is, they have done this before,” said Peter Loukianoff, managing partner of Almaz Capital. “We’re dealing with a very professional group of people and experienced in implementing this type of model in various parts of the world.”

“We really do look at investments as being a critical component of our overall strategy of market disruption,” said Hilton Romanski, vice president of global corporate development for Cisco. “You’ve seen that history play out for us in places like Israel, Over time we invested directly in the market and eventually did acquisitions.”

Cisco has implemented the same strategy in places like China, India and Western Europe.

http://www.almazcapital.com/
http://www.cisco.com

Rotterdam, Nimbuzz Calls Insiders For $15M More
As it passes the 1 million user mark, Dutch mobile software maker Nimbuzz BV has raised a $15 million second funding round from two previous backers, and will soon start tailoring its products for Apple Inc.’s iPhone and handsets based on Google Inc.’s open Android platform.
http://www.nimbuzz.com

NEW YORK, CBS Completes Acquisition of CNET
CBS Corporation announced that it has completed its acquisition of CNET Networks, Inc. and merged its operations into a newly expanded CBS Interactive division.
http://www.cnet.com
http://www.cbs.com/sales/

Cambridge, Arkex’s Gravity Gradiometry Devices Pull In $30M
To continue development of its gravity gradiometry imaging service, Arkex Ltd. has raised a GBP15.4 million ($30.7 million) third round of funding.
http://www.arkex.com

Minneapolis, SuperDimension Secures $22.3M For Device Sales
SuperDimension Inc., which sells a device that enables physicians to treat small, hard-to-reach lung lesions, has raised a $22.3 million expansion round to fund sales and marketing in the U.S. and Europe.
http://www.superdimension.com

Berwyn, Boomi Snatches $4M For Software Integration
Boomi Inc. has raised $4 million in its first round of venture funding from FirstMark Capital.
http://www.boomi.com

London, Accel Builds $1M Bridge For Playfish
Social gaming company Playfish Ltd. has raised a $1 million bridge round from Accel Partners.
http://www.playfish.com

Pasadena, Internet Accelerator FastSoft Seeks $8M Series B
FastSoft Inc., a maker of Internet acceleration equipment, is beginning the hunt for an $8 million Series B round.
http://www.fastsoft.com

Sunnyvale, Agito investors answers the call with $13M For Enterprise Mobility
Selling a device that enables corporate employees to use their cellphone as their business phone, Agito Networks Inc. has secured $13 million in Series B financing.
http://www.agitonetworks.com

Tel Aviv, Aniboom Toons Into $10M Series B
Aniboom Ltd. has secured a $10 million Series B round of funding for its online cartoon network.
http://www.aniboom.com

Las Vegas, Comcast invests in mobile broadband firm
Comcast is making more inroads in mobile broadband. The cable firm made a seed-round investment in Littleton, Mass.-based startup Cartiza Networks, which is developing an IP-based content management and delivery system for mobile broadband networks. Cartiza raised $12.6 million in venture capital funding in 2007 and its investors include Comcast Interactive Capital, Prism VentureWorks and the Business Development Bank of Canada. The company reportedly is in “stealth” mode and has not publicly discussed its technology or strategy. However, the firm is a member of the WiMAX Forum.

The investment is interesting considering Comcast’s other mobile broadband plays–most notably its investment in the new Clearwire. In May, Sprint and Clearwire announced that they will combine their WiMAX businesses and create a new company, called Clearwire, that will include a $3.2 billion investment from Intel, Google, Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Bright House Networks and Trilogy Equity Partners.

http://www.cartizanetworks.com/
http://www.comcast.com
http://www.clearwire.com

Please email me (toby@bluemonitor.com ) with any press releases on funding news, and interview request. And feel free to contact me on the number below, or Skype if you are interested in working with Blue Monitor on your next creative, or technical project.

Thanks,

Toby Morning
Blue Monitor Systems
Snr Project Manager
323-333-0043
Skype: digiplatessoftware
http://www.bluemonitor.com
“Business Support Specialist”

I just got my credentials for the new service Flickcharts which is aiming to help users by giving them tools to organize, rate, and comment on movies. I like what they have done with the ASP.NET AJAX controls, very clean user interface, and pretty intuitive. I cant really see much use for the site now, but if you add in say Open Social support,and the ability to publish my movie favorites to my social sites, that’s a bit more interesting.

Movie VOD services like Movielink, and Cinema Now will be happy to partner with a site like this. Imagine for a sec you surfing on Facebook checking your friends, you notice one has just watched the Aviator, and next to the review there is a “rent” or “buy” now button. Flckchart has just created a great revenue stream from digital movie service, as the click thru fees should be higher then a traditional ad network.

The guys who created ILike Music also recently launched a started which is aiming to do this, but when I signed up for the service a few weeks back, they had not yet launched the app.

Last week I had the pleasure of attending the Parks Associates annual 2008 Connections conference. For 3 days you get the latest in market trends on access services, video delivery, online content services, advertising, digital health, digital media, and home systems.

Kurt Scherf, Vice President and Principal Analyst, highlighted key developments in advanced television services and discussed future areas of focus, including bandwidth issues and the “interactive experience” enabled by VoD, widgets, and advertising. Currently the lack of easy, high-quality connections between VoD services and the TV is a key inhibitor to the growth of the broadband VoD market. Parks Associates expects to see an increase in products and services aimed at connecting content to platforms in 2008 and beyond.

John Barrett, Director, Research, highlighted recent findings from National Technology Scan 2008, a telephone survey of U.S. households. “In the past year, approximately 45 million households purchased a mobile phone, 29 million purchased a digital camera, and 27 million purchased an MP3 player,” Barrett said. “Portable devices are clearly capturing the consumer’s attention right now more so than stationary devices.”

Michael Cai, Director, Broadband and Gaming, spoke about the changes in the broadband market. He predicted the next competitive cycle will center on bundles and value-added services. “Telcos will focus on multiplay bundles and value-added services, forcing a response from cable MSOs,” Cai said. “The increased importance of customer retention will lead to new and more intense rounds of loyalty programs and other customer retention tactics.”

Bill Ablondi, Director, Home Systems, highlighted growth in home systems, stressing their expansion into broader markets, including areas such as multiple-dwelling units, which represent new opportunities for digital systems and services. Also, remote home monitoring services offered through telco/MSO service providers will revolutionize the traditional home security business as broadband services disrupt yet another business model. Parks Associates forecasts that self-monitored households will nearly triple to more than 6 million by 2012.

Harry Wang, Director, Research, discussed personal health solutions. Parks Associates predicts this space will achieve $2.5 billion in U.S. device and service revenues by 2012. “There are significant barriers to overcome, but consensus is forming that technology can help empower consumers and health professionals in achieving better care at lower costs,” Wang said. “Now the technology industry must work with the health community to extend adoption to a broader patient population and convince the health ecosystem of the value of personal health technologies.”

There were quite a few company in the exhibits area showcasing everything from the latest chipset(Coppergate), and start ups like Single Click Systems. Single Click unviled the ability to playback video content on a Blackberry, and IPhone with the remote access software they developed.

Green Plug is another start up which was showcasing at Connections 2008, the Green Plug intelligent power supplies communicate with electronic devices and agree upon device power requirements for all devices connected to them.

All cables and connectors are uniform; so, they work with any device! Being intelligent power sources, they eliminate wasted “phantom power” (power that is wasted when chargers are plugged in and either connected to devices that are fully charged or have no devices connected to them) and improve power utilization and efficiency.

<

Blue Monitor is happy to announce we are now supporting projects which require support for the highly popular open source platform Kaltura, The 1st Open-Source Platform for Video Creation, Management, Interaction, and Collaboration.

Adding a Social Element to Online Video

Dubbed by many as “Wiki meets YouTube™”, Kaltura’s platform includes unique collaboration functionalities that allow groups of users to ‘lean forward’ while creating and consuming rich media together. This active collaboration increases user engagement by adding a social element to the online video experience, and creates enhanced monetization and advertising opportunities for authors and publishers.

Kaltura offer several solutions both open source, and managed solutions. Blue Monitor can help you evaluate, integrate, and deploy Kaltura within your site or service.

Email us for more information on adding Kaltura to your site today!

The My.Vu solo plus provides a nice balance between sleek style and appropriate functionality. Perfect for the solo traveler, the solo plus aims to be a practical personal entertainment device suitable for use in public environments while still providing an enjoyable media experience. This device is much more like your home tv. If some needs to talk to you, the my.vu allows for easy communication without the need to completely remove the glasses. The ear buds pop out easily and are available near by when ready to get back to viewing. The picture is nice and displays well in a variety of lighting environments. Overall this is a very desirable purchase for sometime who spends a fair amount of time traveling. Think of bringing the comfort and casual mood of your home tv with you more than the immersive sensory experience of going to the movie theater.

http://www.myvu.com/SoloPlus.html

http://www.myvu.com/Products.html

San Francisco, Seesmic Says ‘Why Not?’ To $6M More
Just four months after closing its Series A funding, video chat company Seesmic Inc. has raised $6 million in Series B financing from E-Bay Co Founders “Omidyar Network” and Wellington Partners.
http://www.seesmic.com

Orange County, Austin Ventures get behind digital media with $50 Million for Atcor Holdings
Austin Ventures is committing $50 million and partnering with former Intermix Media executive Sherman Atkinson to form Atcor Holdings, a company focused on acquiring and operating digital media, advertising and marketing businesses.

Atkinson will serve as Atcor’s chief executive. Atkinson previously was chief operating officer of Intermix, which owned MySpace.com before its acquisition by News Corp. Before Intermix, he was COO of Buy.com.
http://www.austinventures.com

Santa Clara, “WhiteHat” Security Puts On $7M Series D Hat
Web site security company WhiteHat Security Inc. has raised a $7 million Series D round for product development and sales and marketing.
http://www.whitehatsec.com

Chicago, Firm58 Raises $8.5M For Post-Trade Platform
Targeting the back end of trading transactions, Firm58 Inc. raised an $8.5 million Series B round for its software-as-a-service management platform.
http://www.firm58.com

Boston, OwnerIQ Rises To $6M Series B
Owner IQ wants to help connect consumers with information about electronics they own, The company based in Boston has raised a $6 million Series B round of funding.
http://owneriq.net

Garza Garcia, Mexico, Ignia Fund Adds $25M In Debt Financing
After announcing its initial close on $20.6 million in equity commitments last week, Ignia Fund, Latin America’s first social venture capital fund, said the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) is contributing $25 million in debt financing to the fund
http://www.ignia.com.mx

Menlo Park, VOIP Start Up Jaxtr raises another $10 Million
Voice over Internet protocol company Jaxtr has raised a $10 million Series B round and announced a paid service that the fast-growing company said would allow it to reach break-even next year. The company has been taking business from Vonage, and other VOIP players.The company still has money in the bank from its $8 million Series A led by August Capital and announced in August 2007
http://www.jaxtr.com

Lakewood, BlogTalkRadio Raises $4.6M Series A
BlogTalkRadio Inc., a social radio network that allows users to create their own stations on the Web, has secured a $4.6 million Series A round of funding.
http://www.blogtalkradio.com

Cupertino, Parascale Grabs $11M To Pool Disk Storage
The company prepares to launch its enterprise storage software, Parascale Inc. has scored $11.4 million Series A financing
http://www.parascale.com

San Mateo, Blueroads Paves Way With $6M Series E
BlueRoads Corp., a maker of software-as-a-service for managing channel sales,the company has closed a $6 million in Series E financing.
http://www.blueroads.com

New York, XShares Group Adds $15M For ETFs
XShares Group LLC, a designer and sponsor of exchange-traded funds, has raised more than $15 million in a new round of funding
http://www.xsharesadvisors.com

France, Miyowa announced completion of a Series B financing round totaling $8 million
Mobile IM and presence applications provider Miyowa announced completion of a Series B financing round totaling $8 million, bringing the firm’s financing to date to $12.7 million. Techfund (which funded Miyowa’s Series A financing push in September 2006) and Credit Agricole Private Equity led the round. According to Miyowa, the venture infusion will combine with revenue derived from recent mobile operator contract wins to fund commercial acceleration of its existing product suite, bring to market an enriched mobile IM solution and expand operations in the U.S. and Asia.
http://www.miyowa.fr/

Vienna, Mobile Game Co. Xendex Nabs $1.5M
Mobile game developer Xendex, a division of Austria’s Xendex holding GmbH, has raised $1.5 million first financing round to fund international expansion.
http://xendex.com

Boston, Investors “Believe in Change” Optaros $12M Series C
Optaros Inc., a company that designs, automates and implements open-source applications for enterprises, raised a $12 million Series C round from employees, and strategic inside investors.
http://www.optaros.com

California, Soda Head has raised $8.4 million in Series B funding for its online opinion site
The funding was led by Mission Ventures with participation from existing investor Mohr Davidow Ventures. Soda Head raised a $4.3 million Series A led by Mohr Davidow with participation from Tech Coast Angels and Ron Conway in October 2006.
http://www.sodahead.com

Paris, Drimki Seeded For Paris Real Estate Site
Drimki, a Paris-based online real estate platform, has received seed funding from Ambient Sound Investments.
http://www.paris.drimki.fr

Austin, Texas Semi Co. Integration Associates Sold For $80M
Fabless semiconductor company backed by about $16 million in venture capital, has been acquired for $80 million by Silicon Laboratories Inc.
http://www.silabs.com
http://www.integration.com

Redmond, Microsoft announces acquisition of software services firm MobiComp
Microsoft announced its pending acquisition of software services firm MobiComp, which provides mobile data backup, restoration and sharing services. Financial terms were not disclosed. According to Microsoft, the deal promises to extend the capabilities of its Windows Mobile and Windows Live platforms by integrating MobiComp services including MobileKeeper Backup & Restore, Upon completion of the acquisition, MobiComp will still continue to serve its existing partners and customers, among them 11 mobile operators worldwide.
http://www.mobicomp.com
http://www.microsoft.com

Naples, Rubber Recycler Lehigh Captures VCs minds with $34.5M In Backing
Lehigh Technologies Inc., a rubber recycling company, has raised $34.5 million from several venture capital firms, including a first pure-play clean technology investment by Index Ventures. These VCs believe recycling is good for the planet, and can be a very profitable business, what more could you want, capitalism with a concious!
http://www.lehightechnologies.com

Virgin Mobile USA will acquire embattled MVNO Helio
Virgin Mobile USA will acquire embattled MVNO Helio, according to a report in The Financial Times. Citing sources with inside knowledge of the negotiations, The FT says Virgin Mobile and Helio majority owner SK Telecom have agreed in principle to a deal that will see Helio’s operations and subscribers absorbed into the Virgin Mobile USA brand–in exchange, Virgin will issue new shares giving SK Telecom roughly 20 percent equity in the combined business. SK will also invest a nominal sum in Virgin Mobile USA.

The Financial Times notes that the post-merger Virgin Mobile USA will now be able to expand into the monthly contracts markets and renegotiate its network capacity agreement with Sprint Nextel. Last month, the MVNO reported first quarter net income of $4.8 million, down 75 percent year-over-year–in addition, the company announced anticipated Q2 subscriber losses between 130,000 and 160,000. Helio reported in January subscriber totals approaching the 200,000 mark.

Earlier this week, Gizmodo reported that SK Telecom and Virgin Mobile USA’s merger negotiations were stalled, with Virgin’s continued interest in Helio hinging on either a bankruptcy declaration or massive liquidation. The article also said Helio was poised to begin closing its retail locations and kiosks.
http://www.helio.com
http://www.virginmobile.com

You will not find your favorite CD at Starbucks … what’s that? You don’t? You don’t know anyone who does? But really, have you even seen a CD being purchased in a Starbucks? I haven’t, and I am Starbucks total junkie. That’s why, according to Silicon Alley Insider, the coffee giant by September will have dumped almost all of its in-store music retail offerings like the spinner racks, the gift cards, the iTunes promotional giveaways. Remaining will be spots for a handful of CDs and, more importantly to iPhone owners, free Wi-Fi access to Apple’s music store.

This is another step in Starbucks’ final retreat from its once great entertainment ambitions, as the company tries to regain its focus and get back in touch with its coffee roots (and profitable businesses). Fresh off a hype from the man himself in late March at the Urban Network Summit, Ken Lombard voiced, and harbored great hopes for coffee shops as an important new retail outlet for a gradually decaying CD format, I guess he was wrong. But look at who wins here, APPLE, and guess who is out of job……..

In April, with CD sales reportedly averaging two per day per store, the company turned over operations of its Hear Music record label to Concord and kicked Ken Lombard to the curb, senior vice president and president of Starbucks Entertainment.

We will see what Concord will do with the channel, but I highly doubt they can do much to compete with ITunes free WIFI features which also supports laptop users, and oh yeah, those darn IPhones.

San Francisco, Mochi Media Makes $10M To Monetize Games
With plans to build out its infrastructure to meet demand from game developers for its ad platform, Mochi Media Inc. has raised a $10 million Series B round of funding.
http://www.mochimedia.com

New York Hanger Network Racks Up $10M More
Hanger Network In-Home Media Inc., which distributes ads, coupons and promotional materials on biodegradable coat hangers, has racked up another $10 million from venture investors.
http://www.hangernetwork.com

Seattle, Cozi Gets Cozy With Gannett
Cozi Group Inc., a Web-based service geared toward organizing schedules and other aspects of family life, has received a third round of unspecified funding led by Gannett Co.
http://www.cozi.com

Tulsa, Digital Forensics Detects $1M For Legal Compliance
Digital Forensics Professionals Inc., a company that detects and analyzes digital information stored on computers and other devices, has raised a $1 million round of funding.
http://www.okdfp.com

Barcelona NTRglobal Takes
$34M To Go Beyond Europe-with plans to rapidly expand beyond its European base, NTRglobal, a provider of on-demand IT management software, has raised EUR22 million ($34 million) in its latest round of venture capital.
http://www.ntrglobal.com

TxCore, Now TxVia, Raises $8.5M For Prepaid Cards
Prepaid card processing company TxVia Inc., which recently changed its name from TxCore Inc., has raised an $8.5 million Series B insider round of funding.
http://www.txvia.com

Jersey City, Neocleus Grabs $11M For Endpoint Virtualization
Neocleus Inc., a provider of virtualization software for corporate laptops and desktops, has secured $11.4 million in Series B financing.
http://www.neocleus.com

London, Ky.Wazoo Online Sports Broadcasts With $2M
Wazoo Sports Inc. has secured a $2 million round of funding to bring online high school sports broadcast to the masses.
http://www.wazoosports.com

New York, On Deck Capital Secures $100M for small biz loans
With plans to help businesses that wouldn’t typically qualify for loans, On Deck Capital Inc. has added $100 million to its funds available for lending.
http://www.ondeckcapital.com

Santa Monica, Cooking.com heats up online food start up space with $13M
Cooking.com picked up a $13 million round led by Azure Capital Partners. The company sells food- and cooking-related products via its Web site.
http://www.cooking.com

Fujian, China, VCs Sow $24M In Chinese Veggie Grower
China LiNong International Ltd., a Chinese grower of vegetables, has secured a $24 million Series B round led by SIG China Investment One.
http://www.landvchina.com

San Francisco Technorati Scores $7.5M To Launch Ad Network
Blog-search service Technorati Inc. is broadening its business plan by launching an ad network for blogs and social media sites, as well as boosting the community features on its own site.
http://www.technorati.com

New York, VC Firm Redpoint Has Answers With Latest PIPE Deal
In its latest investment in a publicly traded company, Redpoint Ventures has put $4 million into Answers Corp. with the opportunity to purchase $7 million in Series B preferred stock.
http://www.redpoint.com
http://www.answers.com

Beachwood, Ohio, Fleet Tracker SageQuest Finds $3.7M Series D
SageQuest LLC, a global-positioning fleet tracking and management company, has raised a $3.72 million Series D round of funding.
http://www.sage-quest.com

Hillsboro, Ore. SpectraWatt Spun Out From Intel In $50M Deal
Intel Corp.’s venture arm is showing an increased interest in clean technology applications, leading a $50 million investment in SpectraWatt, a solar cell developer spun off from the technology giant.
http://www.intel.com/capital
http://www.solonag.com

Mountain View, Calif. PSS Systems Raises $18M For Doc Management
In order to help global corporations comply with both European and U.S. regulations, PSS Systems Inc. has raised $18 million for its document management tools.
http://www.pss-systems.com

Redwood City, Calif, Open-Source Mobile Co. Funambol Raises $12.5M
Mobile company Funambol Inc., touting its software as “an open-source BlackBerry for the mass market,” has raised a $12.5 million Series B round, the company will now focus its attention on the lucrative Asian OEM’s, and European markets.
http://www.funambol.com

Sausalito, Calif, ImageSpan Tracks $11M For Content Licensing Platform
With an increasing number of start-ups depending on digital content, the licensing of that content is one area that has not yet been automated, creating headaches for the people creating it.
http://www.imagespan.com

Mountain View, Calif. ShotSpotter Locks And Loads $7.5M Series D
Lock and loaded with a new $7.5 million Series D round of funding, ShotSpotter Inc., a company that has developed a gunshot location detection system used by police poice departments and the military, aims its sights at international expansion.
http://www.shotspotter.com

San Mateo, Calif. Jivox Jumps At Quick $10.7M Series A
Three months after announcing a seed funding of $3.6 million, Jivox Inc. has closed a $10.7 million Series A for its self-service online video advertising platform for local businesses bringing funding to $14.3M to date.
http://jivox.com

Seattle, Lucid Commerce closes $2.5M Series A
Lucid Commerce Inc., an on-demand business intelligence company, raised $2.5 million Series A round to continue development of the next version of its online commerce platform.
http://www.lucidcommerce.com

Seattle, Trusera Launches With $2M For Health Stories
Keith Schorsch got the idea for his start-up from a tick bite.
http://www.trusera.com

Sunnyvale, Calif. Cortina Adds Home Networking With Storm Buy
Heavily venture-backed Cortina Systems Inc, makers of networking chips, announced an agreement to acquire Storm Semiconductor Inc. to extend its product line into home networking products.
http://www.cortina-systems.com
http://www.stormsemi.com

 

 Standard Podcast: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

The Always on Hollywood event went off big as usual. There were tons of VC’s and institutional bankers there courting the business of the young, and the fresh (hot media start ups).

There were quite a few impressive starts up offering thier pitches for rooms full of venture capilist ready to wage thier calculated bets on the next “star”t-up. One of the hottest company’s was Bit Gravity, a new HD CDN operator. The CEO, Perry Wu brought Tom Green in HD quality into the demo for a live chat which was quite effective.

I have to admit, it was the absolute hands down best HD live stream I have ever seen, and rumor is the company is already, or close to moving into the black, and has not yet taken a dollar of VC money, so they should get an excellent valuation, good for them.

The Men’s7 network launched with an awesome party (open bar), and looks like a very promising content start up targeting the very valuable and sought after 25-54 male demographic with this new dynamic lifestyle and entertainment multi-platform network, the MEN7 Network today announced that its broadband website, MEN7.tv, and its weekly high-definition television series, “The MEN7 Show,” will launch on July 3rd.

The company will launch on ION Media Networks (Thursday nights), “The MEN7 Show” will reach nearly 100 million broadcast, cable, and satellite television households domestically, as well as achieving both domestic and international digital distribution on numerous broadband, IPTV and mobile distribution outlets, and on MEN7’s own flagship site, MEN7.tv ( www.MEN7.tv ). “The MEN7 Show” has secured international broadcast distribution in numerous countries including Finland (MTV), French Canada (Vivavision), Korea (CJ Media Networks), India (ZeeTV), Latvia (Latvian TV), Turkey (Dogan TV), Slovakia (Xentauri TV) and the Middle East markets of the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon (Tanweer).

There was a great panel moderated by QD3 with hip hop artist Chamillionaire, Sha Money XL (50’s first manager), Chuka Zulu (Ludacris Manager), Snoops Manager (Ted), James Cruz (50’s current manager), Kevin Black (Warner), and the music supervisor from EA. The panel discussion touched Chamilionaire huge ringtone success, and how 50cent is using social networking to build brand loyality, and a direct communication channel with his fans worldwide.

Kevin Black stood firm on his company’s position (Warner Music) that flexibility is the way to go with any new record launch strategy, and was clear that Warner is interested, and looking for innovative music companys to work with to expose thier catalog and new artist.

Checkout this video from the panel:

Chamillionaire Inteview at Always On NYC: