Participated · Series B · Jun 2019

Cameo operates a platform that sells paid video shoutouts from athletes, actors, and other public figures. The company disclosed a $28 million "cramdown" funding round intended to sustain the business and noted new shares are being issued at a deep discount. An investor indicated the post-investment valuation is expected to be under $100 million, down from a roughly $1 billion peak in March 2021. The round is led by existing backer Valor Equity Partners; new shares are being sold at $11.35 each while existing shares were devalued to about 1% of their prior value. Cameo has reduced headcount after prior fundraising attempts and lost a board member, Earvin “Magic” Johnson. CEO Steven Galanis said the company achieved year-over-year revenue growth after two years and that booking talent increased more than threefold; the company also saw a user uptick during the Hollywood strike. Company spokespeople said the proceeds will support sustainability going forward. Cameo operates a marketplace for personalized celebrity video messages and related direct-to-fan experiences. The service says it has produced around two million videos and that roughly 80% of standard requests are booked as gifts. Last year it added the ability to book celebrities as guests for Zoom video chats and has developed Cameo for Business to bring celebrity content to events, ads and sales. The company plans to use new funding to ramp up C4B and expand its international offering beyond the roughly 20% of videos currently purchased outside the U.S. Cameo says the pandemic accelerated adoption of direct-to-fan models and increased demand from talent to connect with fans. The latest financing more than doubles the company’s prior capital and supports broader commercial partnerships and international growth. Cameo is a Chicago-based marketplace that sells personalized video messages from celebrities, influencers, athletes and thought leaders. Customers pay for lightly scripted videos priced from about $5 up to $3,000, and Cameo takes a 25% cut of each transaction. The company recorded roughly 100,000 transactions in December and expected to have completed over 300,000 by the end of the month, fulfilling an average of about 2,000 video requests per day, and says it has increased revenue 5x year-over-year. Cameo maintains a roster of roughly 15,000 celebrities that it believes could expand to 5 million and has offices in London and Australia. With the new funding the company plans to revamp its mobile app, add in-app purchasing features, and prioritize international expansion by hiring talent-acquisition teams abroad (co-founder Martin Blencowe will focus on London and sourcing talent in Europe, South America and Asia). Cameo also intends to broaden its talent mix beyond B-list celebrities to include CEOs, investors and business influencers, and has leaned into volume-driven growth to increase social sharing and free advertising.

Participated · Equity · Oct 2016

Simba Sleep sells the SIMBA Hybrid® mattress, a dual spring and memory foam product that features four layers of proprietary cooling foams supported by 2,500 patented conical pocket springs. The company was founded in 2015 and operates from London, UK, and now employs 54 staff. To date it has sold 45,000 mattresses, holds an exclusive deal with John Lewis, and offers mattresses across standard UK and European sizes with a 10-year guarantee. Simba has launched in France, Germany, the Netherlands, Ireland, North America and the Middle East, and plans to roll out in 34 countries over the next 18 months. The company says it will use the new funds to scale growth and accelerate new sleep-innovation product development across Europe, Asia and the Middle East. Simba is a UK mattress retailer that specialises in selling mattresses packaged in a box. The company opened for business in August 2015 and was described as a year-old business at the time of the article. Its product positions it against rivals such as US company Casper and UK start-up eve Sleep. Simba focuses on direct-to-consumer mattress sales through its specialist online retail model. The latest funding is intended to support overseas expansion. Financially, the company has raised a total of £8.5m to date following the most recent round.

Participated · Equity · Jun 2014

Kobalt provides big-data-based tools and a dashboard to track music usage and collect royalties across streaming services and other platforms. It operates divisions including music publishing, neighbouring rights, and recordings (through AWAL and its AMRA acquisition) to serve creators and rights holders. Kobalt says it represents about 40% of the top 100 songs and albums in both the US and UK and serves some 25,000 songwriters, 600 publishers, and 20,000 independent artists. The company aims to increase tracking granularity to capture billions of micro-transactions as streaming expands, with CEO Willard Ahdritz noting potential to track up to 10 billion transactions. Financially, Kobalt's Series D was announced in May as $75M at a $775M valuation; a new $14M installment by Section 32 brings the post-money valuation to $789M. Bill Maris has reinvested via Section 32 and joined Kobalt's board. The company has had recent leadership changes, including the departure of president Richard Sanders and Laurent Hubert assuming the additional role of president. Kobalt operates a technology platform that tracks music plays — including samples and fragments — across multiple digital streaming services in near real time to collect royalties. The company currently covers 25,000 songwriters, 600 publishers and 20,000 independent artists, representing about 40% of the top 100 songs and albums in the U.S. and U.K. It tracks plays on twenty top digital streaming providers today and plans to add another 20 sources in the next six months. Kobalt also runs a label services business that buys part or all of artists' rights and expanded that strand with its 2015 acquisition of AMRA. The platform claims it delivers revenue uplifts of roughly 25% versus industry standards by improving tracking and collection. Kobalt is using its tracking data for additional services such as planning live performances and informing exclusive releases, and is exploring further product expansion into video and virtual reality. Kobalt has built a big-data music analytics platform and tagging system that tracks plays across services like YouTube, Spotify and SoundCloud to calculate and distribute royalties to rights holders. The company provides a dashboard with analytics and regular payouts to users, and says more than 8,000 songwriters and over 500 publishing companies use its platform, representing about 40% of the top 100 songs and albums in the U.S. and UK. Kobalt reports its tracking covers 400 million people today and aims to expand coverage to 1.5 billion people within six months by integrating additional streaming services. It operates offices in London and New York and plans to open new offices in Miami, Brazil and Southeast Asia to support international expansion. Financially, Kobalt says its publishing side is profitable, has grown revenues roughly 40% annually for the last four years, and is projecting gross annual revenues of $260 million for the end of June 2015. Management plans to scale the organization and double the tech team to increase speed and expand global integrations. Kobalt provides a technology platform that detects song plays and metadata across digital services, aggregates billions of micro‑transactions, and handles royalty accounting and payouts for rights holders. It offers artists a dashboard with analytics, advances against future royalties, and a commission model of roughly 6%–15%, well below traditional publishers. Kobalt currently collects royalties for about 2,000 high‑profile artists and oversees rights for roughly 600,000 songs, including 45 of the world’s top 100 albums. The company integrates with platforms such as YouTube globally and Spotify in Europe, though it does not yet cover services like Pandora, SoundCloud, or Deezer; the new funding is intended in part to secure more platform deals. In fiscal 2013 Kobalt reported $175 million in sales (up 40% year‑over‑year) and a $7.4 million loss (up 30%). The firm operates as an aggregator using proprietary detection and accounting technology to improve royalty recovery compared with blanket licensing approaches. Kobalt offers a web-based, centralized administration service that helps publishers track music royalties more effectively and accelerate payments. The company also provides artist management services alongside its royalties platform. Founded in 2000 by Willard Ahdritz with early investment from New Media Spark, Kobalt has positioned itself as a technology-driven publisher and rights manager. Its platform focuses on improving royalty visibility and payment speed for publishers and rights holders. Recently the company secured fresh funding that alters its current financing position and board composition.

Participated · Equity · Jun 2012

Oxford Immunotec develops immunology-focused diagnostic tests based on its patented T‑SPOT technology, with its primary product being the T‑SPOT.TB test for latent tuberculosis. The company runs testing laboratory operations in both the US and the UK (Oxford Diagnostic Laboratories) and sells tests in kit form. T‑SPOT.TB is described as the first FDA‑approved method for directly quantifying antigen-specific T cells and has regulatory approval in over 40 countries. In the US the T‑SPOT.TB test has CPT code 86481 and recently increased CMS reimbursement of approximately $106 per test. The company intends to use new funding to expand sales and marketing for the T‑SPOT.TB test and to accelerate development and commercialization of additional infectious and immunological assays. Management highlights the market opportunity for latent TB testing and the company’s lab‑based US business model as drivers of growth. Oxford Immunotec develops and commercializes T cell–based diagnostic tests, most notably the laboratory-based T‑SPOT®.TB cellular blood test that diagnoses latent and active tuberculosis by measuring MTB‑specific T cells. The company is advancing its diagnostic product pipeline and using new capital to support ongoing commercialization of T‑SPOT®.TB. T‑SPOT®.TB is currently marketed in the United States, Europe, Canada and more than 40 other countries worldwide. Oxford Immunotec is based in Oxford, UK, with U.S. operations in Marlborough, MA. The company recently closed the second tranche of a $26M Series D financing to fund these activities.

Participated · Equity · Nov 2010

Vivacta Limited is a Sittingbourne, UK-based medical diagnostics company that develops an innovative platform for point-of-care testing. Its core technology is a piezofilm platform designed to enable new near‑patient diagnostic products. The company has successfully developed a test for thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH). It is working on a multiple‑analyte cardiovascular diagnostic test intended for emergency room and acute care settings to enable rapid diagnosis of possible heart attack and other time‑critical conditions. In November 2010 Vivacta closed a £4m financing round with participation from existing shareholders. Management stated the fundraising will enable the company to continue to maximize the potential of its platform.