Ross Levinsohn (former President of Fox Interactive) and Jonathan Miller (former Chairman and CEO of America Online) launched Velocity Investment Group earlier this year with the goal of acquiring and investing in digital media startups. Today they are announcing a merger with ComVentures, a venture fund with around $1 billion under management.
This sounds like a bit of a coup. The new entity is taking Velocity’s name and will be called Velocity Interactive Group. Two ComVentures partners - Michael Rolnick and Jeb Miller, will be “pursing other interests,” which is probably just a nice way of saying they were booted from the fund.
This is a rare move for a venture fund, and from what we hear ComVentures has been doing well in its investments. But a series of events, such as the FilmLoop debacle, may have left the brand somewhat tarnished. The fund was also ridiculed for stealing Sequoia’s web site look and feel.
A fresh start for ComVentures isn’t a bad idea, and getting talent like Levinsohn and Miller doesn’t hurt, either. The fund will be opening new offices in Santa Monica and New York, adding to existing offices in Palo Alto, India and China.
The fund is also announcing a few investments, including NDTV Networks, IndiaTV, Fabrik, Doppelganger and Mixercast.
As long as O’Reilly doesn’t appear on any of their sites, I’m okay with it.
Will you please let them know for me, Michael?
sincerely,
angela hayden
art goddess
P.S. Is fox interactive related to fox news?
Just one question … how much are they paying Pontiac for use of the logo?
ok…I admit that there are some similarities.
Interesting.
Can anyone tell me the benefits of two VC firms merging.
oh, I won’t buy operating savings since there are only a couple of guys running the fund anyway?
whats with blog posts about venture companies? Thats 2 in a row…actually could be a good addition to techcrunch, weekly VC fund overview. Management, success record, investment strategy, current holdings etc. + this way you can grow your VC contacts under the guise of doing reporting
By any chance do you have the contact details of ComVentures?
When will you be releasing the crunchies information?
Were interested in being at the event!
Consolidation would only lead to better market dynamics.
http://tekno-world.blogspot.com
VC are funding digital media with open hand for strategic alliance.
Roland Van der Meer seems to be part of this… I’d stay the f*ck away!!!
yep, as far as I can tell, Roland is still with the fund. red flag.
oh boy. Talk about culture clash. Some of the partners are wearing suits with ties and the other guys just coats or a shirt. This will flame out…. Houston we’ve got a problem!
I have worked with Jeb Miller as a funded company, and he is very talented and very helpful. Among other signs, his “moving on” is a red flag for the new venture.
Michael, what’s the Red Flag about Roland?
Ray Burt: research Filmloop.com
http://venturebeat.com/2007/02.....-can-help/
I’d never work for a company funded by any entity where Roland Van der Meer is involved. The other suspect is Keyur Patel. Developers, you’ve been warned!