Carlos Diaz, one of France’s most prominent serial entrepreneurs, will be adding a bit of cash to his most recent venture’s bank account. Kwarter, a social TV startup which works with brands to engage their viewers on the “second screen,” has raised $4 Million from T-Venture (Deutsche Telekom), as well as Kinetic Ventures. Diaz previously founded BlueKiwi, which was acquired by Atos just last year, and while he has moved to San Francisco to continue building companies, he has maintained one foot in France, most recently demonstrated by his involvement in the pigeon movement.
Originally reported by Techcrunch, writer Ryan Lawler makes a great point that, while the “second screen for your TV” space is already getting quite packed – we’ve got TV Show Time in Paris, and there’s also GetGlue and others – none have taken Kwarter’s approach of going directly to the TV stations, the decision makers. Working directly with broadcasters and brands, Kwarter helped the MLB launch their social dugout application last year.
The Pigeon Movement gained major traction in October, and brought on a national debate; however, while entrepreneurs were spared a tax increase on their capital gains, minority stake holders (BAs) were not, and France’s anti-business administration continues to tarnish France’s business reputation, despite the fact that major changes in labor laws are already under way. Nonetheless, I was happy to see that Carlos Diaz is still actively involved in the movement.