A new player in the media measurement game has its sights on the throne that Nielsen has held for ages. VideoAmp on Thursday said it raised $275 million with a $1.4 billion valuation that elevates the Los Angeles-based firm to "unicorn" status. Read more...
Here's what else we're reading in the news:
- Pasadena is inviting tech companies to plant their own flag in a virtual map to showcase the city's diverse tech scene.
- EVmo, an L.A.-based rideshare vehicle rental company, has settled a class action lawsuit with investors who claimed losses over its IPO price.
- WarnerMedia lost a net 1.8 million HBO and HBO Max subscribers after it was removed from Amazon's streaming offerings.
- WeWork finally went public following a period of turmoil over its finances and management.
- Rocket Lab, the Long Beach-based rocket company, will be testing its reusable Electron rocket in its next launch in November.
- The Federal Reserve is now barring senior Fed officials from holding individual stocks and other securities.
Nielsen Losing Its Grip?
Though Nielsen has maintained a tight grip on the industry for decades, the media-measuring giant is losing its grip. Just last month, Nielsen lost its accreditation from the nonprofit Media Rating Council over alleged issues with its data. VideoAmp, which just raised $275 million, positions itself as an alternative to "legacy" systems, which it says are "fragmented, riddled with complexity and inaccurate."
Snap Stock Plummets More Than 25%
Snap Inc. shares plunged in after hours trading as much as 27% on Thursday after missing Wall Street revenue expectations. CEO Evan Spiegel blamed the miss on Apple's new privacy policies that it said disrupted the company's targeted digital advertising.
LA County Set to Inoculate Millions with Booster Shot
More than two million Angelenos will be able to get a booster shot in the coming week after the Center for Disease Control approved Moderna and Johnson & Johnson booster shots on Thursday. It comes a day after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced it is safe to mix and match vaccines, a game changer for the public health sector.
Hitha Palepu on Women Founders and the 'True' Failure
Rhoshan Pharmaceuticals CEO Hitha Palepu joins this week's Behind Her Empire to talk about how she became an angel investor focused on women-founded businesses and her latest book, "We're Speaking: The Life Lessons of Kamala Harris."