TECH Bits: Dan Romanelli Gets Seriously; Machinima Passes 5 Billion

Mobile game startup Seriously has added seed capital, an Angry Birds veteran and notable advisor Dan Romanelli, the founder and former president of Warner Bros. worldwide consumer products division during the era when it cranked out billions of dollars in revenue from licensing of franchises such as Batman and Harry Potter. The company also announced that it had roughly doubled its seed funding with $2.65M in additional financing from current investors Sunstone Capital and Upfront Ventures. Philip Hickey joined the company as VP of Marketing & Communications from Rovio, the maker of Angry Birds. The company also added as an advisor Ujjal Kohli, former CEO and co-founder at Rhythm New Media and former CMO for AirTouch Cellular; and game artist Petri Rasanen, formerly with Rocketpack, which was acquired by Disney three years ago.
Machinima’s main channel passes 5 billion views on YouTube
The big multi-channel network Machinima said its eponymous main YouTube channel has passed the rather epic viewer total of 5 billion. The channel launched in 2007, though it since has been joined by 22,000 other channels within the Machinima network. Earlier this spring, Warner Bros. led an $18 million round of investment into Machinima. At nearly the same time, the MCN also laid off most of its sales unit as it readjusted its structure to ... Read More »

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