Archive for September 2014
Numericable launches VOD offer ‘LaBox Series’ to counter Netflix
The efforts to counter Netflix’s big push in France continues. Telco operator and soon-to-be SFR owner, Numericable, just launched their own VOD service to rival Netflix via their LaBox Fibre. The platform, LaBox Series, will be free for their 380k fiber subscribers, giving them access to up to 3k TV shows and will eventually extend to movies. […]
LVMH’s TAG Heuer planning smartwatch launch
Known as the undisputed leaders in watchmaking, Swiss watchmakers have, up until now, taken a ‘wait and see approach’ to the rise of the smartwatch. Although consumers have yet to take to smartwatches en masse, the advent of more luxury, design-focused smartwatches, such as the more high-end versions of Apple’s iWatch, HP and Gilt’s Michael Bastian […]
BPCE becomes the first bank to allow payment by Tweet
It seems like you can do almost anything via Twitter. Politicians can spread their messages, celbrities can communicate with fans, and, now, Twitter users can pay each other. Groupe BPCE, via its subsidiary S-Money, announced last week that S-Money users will be able to send money to one another starting in October simply by tweeting to @user to whom […]
“Uber for Marketing” DOZ raised $1 Million from Nexus, 500 Startups & Kima
You may have already heard of DOZ, after they wrote about their fight to keep their company brand last year, or more recently when they spoke about raising money abroad as a French startup; however, today’s news comes from myself and not from CEO Anji Ismail – DOZ has raised $1 Million from Nexus Ventures, Kima […]
Festicket raises $2.7 million Series A round with pan-European VCs
After closing a seed round last year $680k and 2 years after their launch, live music travel platform Festicket has gone to raise $2.7 million with pan-europeam VCs, Wellington Partners and PROfounders Capital. Their seed investors Windcrest Partners, Playfair Capital, KIMA Ventures and Jacques-Antoine Granjon, also joined the round. Festicket’s growth has accelerated over last year, with […]
Fitch parent company Fimalac’s ambitious digital strategy with Webedia
When Fitch parent-company Fimalac bought French media startup Webedia last year for more than €70 Million, it wasn’t quite clear what their strategy was. They stated at the time of acquisition that Fimalac would benefit from Webedia’s reach into the entertainment industry; however, most assumed that it was just Founder & CEO Marc Ladreit de Lacharrière throwing […]
Will Audiophiles take to Deezer’s Sonos-backed US Launch?
Deezer announced this week that the online streaming service is launching in the US, partnering with wireless speakers company Sonos to launch exclusively “Deezer Elite,” a $19.99/month high-quality audio service destined towards audiophiles. The launch comes almost a year after rumors of Deezer’s search for a launch partner began to drop – Microsoft was, until now, the most […]
Notflix.fr shows films that are available only on Netflix’s competitor’s service
As Netflix gets ready to for its big European Launch, France will be among its most difficult nuts to crack – mainly because there are way too many players with an interest in having them fail. There are TelCo operators who have competiting offers, who have refused to partner with Netflix on their launch. And then […]
Autodesk to launch its first pop-up gallery in Paris – “The Future of How Things are Made”
For the first time ever, Autodesk will offer the public a glimpse of their thinking and work around the future of engineering and design. From 9 – 23 October, Autodesk will bring to Paris’ Marais district its first Autodesk Gallery pop-up offering innovative and interactive exhibits on the future of areas such as architecture, industrial design, […]
French startup Fundraising Review – Glowbl, Vigiglobe, Koolicar & Cogniteev
It’s been a busy day for VCs & startups on Rude List – France’s Startup Database – the Summer break is over and the fundraising announcements are pouring in. Vigiglobe Algorithm-driven social media tool Vigiglobe announced its second round of funding today, bringing in €1.1 Million from Kima Ventures, Starquest Capital & others. The startup had already […]