Web animation site aniBoom raises $10 million
Written on June 27, 2008
AniBoom.com, an Internet home for animators to create and share their work, has raised an additional $10 million in funding led by venture capital firm Draper Fisher Jurvetson.
Other investors in its second round of financing, due to be announced on Friday, include Israel’s DFJ Tamir Fishman Ventures and existing stakeholder Evergreen Venture Partners, which had invested about $4.5 million last year.
Founder and President Uri Shinar says the company is building a virtual studio for animators, aiming to find a home for their work across all media and advertising outlets.
“The big studios are only focusing on big movies and television (series),” Shinar told Reuters. “Creators need to feel safe, that you are talking to them.”
But aniBoom can serve an audience, largely of young adults, who are keen on short-form entertainment that has the added benefit of being less costly to produce, he said.
AniBoom is producing 20 animated short web series and will begin launching them to the public in July 500 fast cash. Founded in 2006, the company has begun to see signs of competition from major media players who are taking notice of the market’s potential.
Last month, News Corp’s Fox said it would launch an incubation venture for new animation talent, while reality show producer Mark Burnett signed a deal with the Liquid Generation site to develop cartoon comedies for television.
Several other media conglomerates and entrepreneurs have also tapped into the Internet’s vast community of creators to try and identify the next great director of traditional feature films, or TV shows.
Filed in: legal.