A weekly roundup of must-read L.A. tech investments and acquisitions.
Mitú Inc.
$27 Million
Type: Equity
Location: Santa Monica
Investors: Series C round included DreamWorks Animation’s AwesomenessTV, British advertising agency WPP Digital and Verizon Wireless
Description: The company cited its focus on Latino millennials as the main reason investors were interested. Mitú plans to use its funding to expand programming, build an advertising-sales platform and add media distribution channels, such as new mobile apps. Mitú sells advertisements and sponsorships on behalf of a network of 6,000 semi-professional Internet personalities, who publish their content on social networks, such as YouTube, Facebook and Instagram.
Related: Latino Online Media Startup Mitu Raises $27 Million
MPulse Mobile
$10 million
Type: Equity
Location: Encino
Investors: Series A led by HLM Venture Partners with previous investors OCA Ventures, Merrick Ventures and Jumpstart Ventures participating.
Description: MPulse automates patient and healthcare provider communications over SMS, in-app messaging and emails. The Series A funding will be used to enhance analytical capabilities of mPulse’s software. MPulse’s messaging software mimics the way humans communicate and is used to notify patients of appointments, for example, said Chief Executive Chris Nicholson. The company counts Kaiser Permanente, UCLA Health and Humana Inc. as customers.
Related: Healthcare Messaging Startup MPulse Raises $10 Million
Unmute
$2.2 million
Type: Equity
Location: Santa Monica
Investors: Seed round led by Greycroft Partners with participation from Comcast Ventures, Crosscut Ventures, Betaworks, former NBA Commissioner David Stern and creator of “The Walking Dead” comic book Robert Kirkman.
Description: The Unmute app allows users to share live voice calls with other users. Users can also share photos and comments during the call. The audio is also recorded by the app and can be posted to Facebook or Twitter.
J2 Global Inc.
Undisclosed
Type: Acquisitions
Location: Hollywood
Bought: Australian website hosting company Ausweb, discount e-retailer Offers.com of Austin, Texas, British cloud storage company Backup and email security company MX Toolbox, also of Austin.
Description: Cloud services company J2 Global Inc. of Hollywood gobbled up four more companies in the fourth quarter, bringing the total number of companies it acquired last year to 24. J2’s acquisitions are aimed at bringing together a fragmented industry of independent cloud storage and Internet-service companies under one roof. Buying up smaller companies has been a cost-effective method for acquiring customers, said Chief Executive Hemi Zucker.
Related: J2 Global Bought 24 Companies Last Year
Technology reporter Garrett Reim can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @garrettreim for the latest in L.A. tech news.
