Wednesday, January 27, 2016Hulu Inks Deal With IFC FilmsSanta Monica-based online movie and television streaming site Hulu says that it has inked a deal with IFC Films, to act as the exclusive streaming home for all future documentary releases from IFC Films, Sundance Selects and IFC Midnight. Financial details of the deal were not disclosed. Hulu said the streaming release will directly follow theatrical releases of those films. The first two documentaries to be covered by the deal will both be the food and restaurant related titles King Georges, ab (More info...)
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Disney Accelerator Alumni StatMuse Picks Up $10M RoundStatMuse, one of the companies to emerge out of the Disney Accelerator in Burbank last fall, said this morning that it has raised $10M in a Series A funding round. The round came from Techstars, The Walt Disney Company, Allen & Co., Greycroft Partners, Promus Ventures, Haas Portman, Deep Fork Capital, and Bee Partners. The round also included former NBA commissioner David Stern and the United Talent Agency. StatMuse develops natural language search software and a social interface, which helps fa (More info...)
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Chrome River Claims Big User GrowthLos Angeles-based enterprise software developer Chrome River, which develops cloud-based expense management and supplier invoicing software, says it grew its user base by 82 percent, year over year. The company said it had record growth in 2015, and now has over 430 enterprise customers and more than 1 million users. The company did not say what that translates to in terms of revenues. Chrome River is backed by private equity investor Great Hill Partners, which invested $100M in the company in J (More info...)
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FACEIT Finds $15M, Sets Up Shop In LAFACEIT, a online, competitive gaming site founded in London in 2012, says that it has set up shop in Los Angeles, and raised $15M in a Series A funding round. The funding round came from Anthos Capital, Index Ventures, and United Ventures. FACEIT offers up an online site for competitive gaming and esports, allowing players to compete against each other and to win prizes. The company opened up its Los Angeles office this month, which it says will help it establish a North American presence. The c (More info...)
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Memeni Gets $2.5M For Community SoftwareNewport Beach- and Tel Aviv-based Memeni, which develops a social software plaform to help brands create their own, online communities, has raised $2.5M in an angel investment round, the company disclosed Tuesday. Names of those investors were not announced. Memeni is led by Arik Benzino. Memeni's software lets brands create their own online community of users. Memeni offers up the software on a monthly basis, charging $59 a month for a basic site with up to 5,000 members to $495/month and up fo (More info...)
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Tongal Names Chief Marketing OfficerLos Angeles-based creative video crowdsourcing site Tongal has named a new, Chief Marketing Officer, saying it has named Amanda Malko to the new position. Malko was previously CMO of digital marketing agency 360i. She has also served at The Associated Press and Massive Incorporated. Tongal offers up an online platform which helps brands, studios, and creators develop video content, including advertising and short films; the company says that it now has powered more than 1,000 campaigns. Recent p (More info...)
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Halozyme Raises $150M In Debt FundingSan Diego-based biopharmaceuticals developer Halozyme Therapeutics said yesterday that it has raised $150M in royalty-backed, debt financing. The financing came from Pharmakon Advisors and Athyrium Capital Management. According to the company, the funding will go towards a Phase 3 cancer study in cancer patients. Halozyme said the non-dilutive financing is secured by future royalties of its ENHANZE products from Roche and Baxalta, and that the debt was issued at 8.75 percent plus the three-month (More info...)
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Hollywood Software Acquired By RentrakLos Angeles-based Hollywood Software, Inc. (HSI), a provider of enterprise software for managing digital movie distribution, has been acquired by Rentrak, a provider of viewer analytics and tracking of movie and television consumption. Financial terms of the buy were not disclosed. Rentrak said the buy will allow it to provide "highly valuable" movie analytic tools. Hollywood Software's products are installed at such studios as 20th Century Fox, Universal Pictures and Lionsgate, according to the (More info...)
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