investment
Latest
Fresh crowdfunding rules give you a bigger stake in startups
If you've ever wanted to support a young company beyond pledging money toward its products, it's time to act. After years of waiting, the US has enacted new rules that make it much easier to crowdfund a company through investments. Before, you had to be an accredited investor with some wealth (making over $200,000 per year, or a net worth of over $1 million) to contribute significant money and get a stake. Now, anyone can invest $2,000 or more online and get a say. Companies can't raise more than $1 million per year through this method, but that could frequently be enough to get the ball rolling.
HBO and Discovery make major investment in virtual reality
Virtual reality isn't just seeing a revival when it comes to gaming, immersive content is taking root in journalism, movies and television as well. In fact, two networks made an investment in a virtual and augmented reality company to help drive future production projects. OTOY, a company that makes cloud-based graphics software covering the capture, rendering and streaming of VR and AR content announced today that both HBO and Discovery are backing it "to create universal publishing platform for TV, movies and original holographic content." While holograms are mentioned throughout the press release, VR and AR factor heavily into the networks' plans.
You don't have to be a millionaire to invest in Fig's next video game
Crowdfunding platforms like Kickstarter don't deal in investments: Backers pledge money to a project and that's generally where their involvement ends. No purchasing shares, no percentage of final sales. Video game-funding platform Fig, however, combines this traditional form of crowdfunding with actual investment -- and it will allow unaccredited people to invest in its next campaign. This move opens up investment to people who aren't SEC-accredited, meaning they don't make at least $200,000 a year (or have a minimum net worth of $1 million). "We believe that fans, in addition to having the opportunity to participate in the rewards-only tiers, should also have the opportunity to buy shares and participate in the financial success of a title," Fig CEO Justin Bailey says in a press release.
Game streamer Hitbox takes on Twitch with 4K eSports broadcasts
Pop quiz hotshot: Name a game broadcasting service that isn't Twitch, YouTube Gaming or MLG.tv. Give up? You're forgiven. Vienna-based Hitbox.tv is relatively new to the space and its looking to make a name for itself by offering features that the competition doesn't. Like streaming eSports events in 4K at 60FPS starting this fall, for instance. As Twitch expands into more and more non-gaming avenues, Hitbox thinks it can serve the core crowd that might feel alienated by those moves. The Austrian company has picked up some new investments recently -- most notably from the folks behind World of Tanks, Wargaming. A canned statement from the latter says that forthcoming games will "integrate game data" into broadcasts and that it should be pretty easy to do so. Hitbox also offers a wide-open revenue split system that every broadcaster has access to, rather than Twitch's curated Partner program highlighting its top broadcasters.
Yota aims for mass-market success after buyout
It's fair to say that the global launch of Yota Device's last E-Ink smartphone didn't quite go to plan. Despite positive reviews and a successful crowdfunding campaign, the Russian startup was forced to scale back its US plans significantly following a manufacturing issue. That sad state of affairs goes a long way to explaining why it's just accepted a large investment that puts a majority 64.9-percent stake in its company in the hands of Hong Kong-based investment company REX Global.
Invest in the development of your favorite video games with 'Fig'
When Double Fine launched a Kickstarter campaign for an unnamed adventure game in 2012, it changed the gaming industry in a huge way. The project asked for $400,000 but raised more than $3 million in about a month, setting records at the time and jump-starting the video game crowdfunding craze. And then, in 2013, Double Fine announced it needed more money to finish its adventure game, now titled Broken Age. Even with millions of dollars, widespread publicity and thousands of fans, Double Fine ran into costly issues during development, and not all backers were receptive to the studio's reasoning. Some of them wanted more say in how the game was made, seeing their donation as a legitimate stake in Broken Age's development -- something that the Kickstarter campaign never promised. Flash forward to August 2015: Former Double Fine COO Justin Bailey launches Fig, a video game crowdfunding platform that offers investment opportunities with cash returns and promises to provide backers with an inside look at how game development actually goes down.
Samsung invests in another crowdfunded VR company
Just because Samsung is extra-cozy with Oculus doesn't mean that it's putting all its virtual reality eggs in one basket. Samsung Ventures has invested an unspecified amount of cash into Fove, the company whose crowdfunded VR headset adjusts focus based on your gaze. There's no word of an official collaboration between the two companies, but it's not hard to see why a tech giant would pour money into this startup. Samsung is really eager to see VR take off -- Fove's work both creates healthier competition and provides the Korean firm with a technically advanced alternative to the established options.
Spotify builds a war chest to compete with Apple Music
Now that Apple is launching a streaming music service, Spotify is going door-to-door to drum up backing for its forthcoming war. Of course, it doesn't need moral support as much as cash, and investors must think it's a safe bet, since they've stumped-up $526 million to the company's fighting fund. As the Wall Street Journal reports, that means that finance-orientated types believe that Spotify is worth more than $8.5 billion -- a pretty penny for a business that's never made a profit.
Bloomberg: Cyanogen's new investor list doesn't include Microsoft
It would have been interesting to see how a Microsoft deal would change Cyanogen. But we'll have to rely on our imaginations, because Redmond has decided not to put money into the company, according to Bloomberg. While Cyanogen is known for creating customized versions of the Android platform, earlier reports said it was in talks with Redmond to create a custom mod loaded with Windows apps in exchange for financial investment. Still, even though the negotiation fell through, it doesn't look like the startup will end up strapped for cash: Bloomberg says it's on track to make $110 million from other investors through its current financing round. Besides, one of the pub's sources believes Microsoft might still pursue a commercial deal with the Android modder in an effort to put Windows applications into more users' hands.
Is Snapchat getting $200 million from China's online shopping giant?
Think you get a lot of value out of Snapchat's disappearing messages, payments and stories? You're not the only one. Bloomberg sources claim that Alibaba, China's online shopping behemoth, plans to invest $200 million into Snapchat on the assumption that it's worth $15 billion. That doesn't even include separate talks that are reportedly bent on raising another $500 million. It's not certain why Alibaba is so interested in the service, although its stake in smartphones is probably a big clue. The company wants to promote mobile shopping and otherwise get a foothold on your phone, and services like Snapcash would go a long way toward making that happen.
Lytro to focus on VR and video with $50 million investment
Lytro -- maker of "shoot now, focus later" cameras -- is diving into the virtual reality and video market, following an investment of $50 million led by GSV Capital. The market shift means Lytro will lay off 25 - 50 of its 130 employees, and at the same time hire new folks with expertise in VR and video. Lytro is best known for its tubelike, selective-focus cameras released in 2012, though its newest model, the Illum, is a high-end SLR-style device. The company has been feeling out its target market for a while, and while we thought the new camera was better than its predecessor, VR might turn out to be a better fit for Lytro overall.
Sony tests the waters for self-driving cars with a small investment
Apple and Google aren't the only tech giants exploring the brave new world of self-driving cars. Financial Times tipsters report that Sony has invested roughly $842,000 into ZMP, a Japanese autonomous vehicle startup. While it's a small start, Sony apparently has big plans -- it wants to combine its cameras with ZMP's robotics to develop "self-driving technologies." That doesn't necessarily mean you'll see a Sony-branded ride, but you could easily find the company's equipment inside cars from various marques. The move at least makes sense. Sony is already working on automotive cameras, so it's no big leap to translate that experience to hands-off transportation.
Report: Ouya gets $10 million investment from Alibaba
Chinese e-commerce company Alibaba invested $10 million into microconsole maker Ouya last month, The Wall Street Journal reported. The two companies have seemingly agreed to bring Ouya's software and game library to Alibaba's set-top box. Ouya announced its Ouya console-less ambitions in March 2014, dubbed "Ouya Everywhere." The initiative allows Ouya to run its software on other devices, starting with Mad Catz's MOJO microconsole. Ouya raised $8.6 million on Kickstarter in 2012, first launching in July 2013. The system didn't generate much revenue for developers as just 27 percent of Ouya owners purchased a game in its first month. Ouya CEO Julie Uhrman would not confirm Alibaba's investment, but did tell Engadget that the company has "been working with partners to bring our platform and games library to their devices." She said that Ouya is "live with Madcatz in the US and working with Xiaomi in China. There are a number of others in the works, with our focus outside the US because there is where we see the most opportunity and growth. Sometimes new markets leapfrog the established ones -- this may be one of those cases." The Chinese government lifted its 14-year ban on foreign consoles and video games just over one year ago, issuing a new set of content restrictions for manufacturers this past April. Reports from December found that gaming revenues in the country grew 38 percent year-over-year. The other major console manufacturers are poised to enter the emerging market: While Sony delayed the launch of the PS4 in China earlier this month, Microsoft already reportedly sold over 100,000 Xbox One systems in its introductory week back in October. Nintendo revealed plans in May to approach emerging markets such as China with new hardware this year.
TUG's investment deal goes through
After all the stress that TUG went through with a series of layoffs and funding issues, it almost seemed like too much to hope that Nerd Kingdom would actually secure the investors they were looking for. But good news does come around this time of year. The game has its additional funding secure, which means that it's out of the woods, at least for now. The multiplayer portion of the game continues in heavy development (there's a preview video just past the break) and supporters are implored to really go to town and help find bugs in that build. Players are also encouraged to check out the Nerd Kingdom booth at the upcoming PAX South. It's good news for fans of what the game is now and what it could eventually become, so keep your eyes peeled and breathe a sigh of relief that the money from the sky actually came through.
Investors plug $6 million into Majesco
Majesco Entertainment completed an investment round that resulted in $6 million in funding, the Cooking Mama publisher announced today. $1 million of the funds were issued to the company with the rest stashed in escrow until certain, as-yet-unknown conditions are met by Majesco. The company also appointed two people to its boards of directors to replace two that stepped down, one of whom is Jesse Sutton, who will remain Majesco's CEO after resigning from the company's board. SEC filings in November admitted that Majesco "suffered losses that raise substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern." It reported a 27.2 percent drop year-over-year in net revenue in September, as well as net losses of $2.7 million. As a result, Majesco laid off several staff in October to reduce fixed costs. The company also noted last month that it is "currently not developing any significant new games for release in fiscal 2015," which ends on October 31, 2015. [Image: Majesco]
Chinese internet giant Baidu is reportedly buying a stake in Uber (update: official)
For all of the horrifying incidents, shut-downs and PR disasters, Uber's clearly got enough potential to excite the folks over at Baidu, which is often referred to as "the Google of China." According to Bloomberg, Baidu is ready to throw anything up to $600 million at the ride sharing firm in exchange for a small stake in the company. It's a win-win for Uber, since it'll gain the sort of local knowledge that US businesses need in order to make it in China, as well as a big stack of cash. In addition, Baidu will share online resources with the startup, although it's not yet clear what that actually means. The search giant is sending out invites to an announcement on December 17th, where it'll reveal which "US startup that is now a household name" it's teaming up with. Which, you know, is probably Uber. Update 12/17: And it's official. They're not talking about the money involved, but the new collaboration (Baiduber?) will let Baidu's users find rides through mobile and search apps. Uber, meanwhile, gets Baidu's app distribution -- important, since the Google Play Store doesn't operate in China.
Nerd Kingdom is hopeful about an investor for TUG
Developer Nerd Kingdom has been fairly quiet since its announcement in September that half of its team was being let go in order to keep development moving on TUG. The good news is that the needed investors might be right around the corner. An update on the game's Kickstarter page notes that the team is entering what appear to be final talks with a potential investor, ensuring that the team has enough money to finish the game. The update stresses the fact that said investor is not looking to alter the development process or compromise the team's vision for the title. in terms of actual development, the game's multiplayer mode is coming together. It's also going to be increasing in price soon to $19.99, so if you'd been holding off on buying the game but really want to pick it up for only $10, your time is running out, although given recent events, you may want to hold off a little bit until the investment is a sure thing.
SoftBank puts $250 million toward joint movie venture with Legendary
Just days after reports circulated that SoftBank was looking to nab DreamWorks so it could tap into the movie biz, the company is investing elsewhere. Today, the Japanese outfit announced that it's forming a "strategic partnership" with another film studio: Legendary Entertainment. SoftBank is putting up $250 million to back the endeavor, aiming to push the movie maker's content over the web and on mobile devices -- focusing on the China and India markets in particular. If you're in need of a refresher, Legendary is the muscle behind films like Man of Steel, The Dark Knight Rises, and Inception. Variety reports that SoftBank's talks with DreamWorks stalled during the course of discussing a rumored $3.4 billion acquisition deal.
Rockefeller fund to move its fortune from oil to green tech
If you're in any way familiar with the history of energy, then the name Rockefeller is synonymous with oil. That's why it's such a surprise to learn that the Rockefeller Brothers fund, worth $860 million, has pledged to dump its remaining investments in fossil fuel production over the next five years. The Rockefeller fund is the most notable name in a list of billionaires and funds that have pledged to shift anything up to $50 billion away from coal, oil and gas and into renewable energy as part of the divest-invest movement. It's a timely announcement, too, designed to coincide with the Tuesday's UN summit on climate change, designed to galvanize green activity in the face of the recent, damning, scientific evidence.
GameStop may seek exclusive content during a game's development
GameStop is contemplating taking a greater interest in games during their development in order to secure exclusive content. Colin Sebastian of investment firm R.W. Baird recently discussed GameStop's future with the retailer, then told investors in a note that GameStop "indicated that software publishers are more enthusiastic about partnering with it." For example, publishers may offer "exclusive content on each major game release," and in longer terms, "future models may include GameStop offering exclusive gameplay" for games. While GameStop already secures exclusive content for some major releases, this means the retailer may involve itself earlier in the development process than usual. As Sebastian clarified to GamesBeat, the retailer would be "getting involved at the time of game development where there could be some content exclusive to [the retailer] included in the game." GameStop spokesperson Jackie Smith also added that the company is working with development partners "to get both physical and digital exclusives for our customers." [Image: GameStop]
