Intel Capital furthered its participation in the expanding alternative television sector, backing a Series A funding
round for SaysMe Inc., a provider of political video advertising that will use the money to expand into other areas. The company did not disclose the size of the investment, but round leader Intel was joined Prime Capital; Katalyst Films, a production company owned by actor Ashton Kutcher; advertising industry veteran Bill Apfelbaum; and other angel investors.
SaysMe was launched to take advantage of the current political season and runs a portfolio of political and issue-based ads that individuals can post and collect royalties on if others choose to run them. The business model has something to do with consumers paying SaysMe to have their names appended to ads created by other third parties, with SaysMe then paying royalties to the creators. But apparently this will expand with technology to allow the sponsors to add their own text, graphics and voice to the messages.
SaysMe.tv was created as part of Sunshine Direct, a marketing company founded in 2004 by Apfelbaum, Morgan Warstler, John Morisano and Lisa Eisenpresser, now CEO of SaysMe. While the venture initially acquired content relating to political issues, it now plans to expand to allow contributors to post or sponsor messages relating to "sports, life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness (or whatever else they may be pursuing)," as the company announces in its own description.
The deal supports Intel Capital's strategy of promoting a broad array of online video technology, which the firm, the biggest corporate VC unit in the world, pursues to stoke markets for Intel Corp.'s chips. The funding follows this week's investment in customized video
advertising developer
Channel M and recent investments in TV signal location technology developer
Rosum Corp. and Chinese online television developer
Shanghai Media Group Broad Band.
-- Clifford CarlsenSee April 24 press release from SaysMe See April 21 post on Channel M funding from Tech ConfidentialSee April 15 post on Rosum funding from Tech ConfidentialSee April 10 post on Intel's China Technology Fund from Tech Confidential
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