Reactrix Media Systems Raises $11 Million in Series C Financing
McDonald's and AMC Theatres discover Reactrix marketing powerDecember 6, 2004
San Carlos, CA – Reactrix Media Systems, Inc., a developer of pioneering, interactive media, today announced that it has raised $11 million in financing to help it expand its business activities. The Series C funding, led by Thomas Weisel Venture Partners, also included all existing Reactrix investors: California-based venture capital firms Worldview Technology Partners and Mobius Venture Capital and private investor Tim Koogle, the former Chairman and CEO of Yahoo!.
"Reactrix has created an interactive media experience that is unique and incredibly compelling," said Heidi Roizen, Managing Director, Mobius Ventures. "I've watched the response over and over, in many different settings, and the response is always the same – - people just lose themselves in the fun of it, and when they walk away, they are walking away smiling. By using the Reactrix technology to create responsive, immersive, entertaining advertising, brand owners turn advertising from something consumers try to avoid to something they seek out and enjoy."
Under terms of the new financing, Dave Crowder, General Partner at Thomas Weisel Venture Partners, has joined the company's board of directors. Other board members include Colin Savage, a general partner at Worldview Technology Partners; Heidi Roizen, a managing director at Mobius Venture Capital; and Tim Koogle. Reactrix closed an earlier round of Series B funding for $11 million in December 2003 and has raised about $23 million in total. The company will use the proceeds from the new investment to fund growth.
"This new round of financing signifies continued confidence in our ability to deliver pioneering interactive media experiences at retail locations and public venues, like Malls and Theaters," said Mike Ribero, Chief Executive Officer of Reactrix Media Systems, Inc. Traditional advertising just isn't working as well as it used to, especially for kids and young adults. Reactrix is interactive branded entertainment that today's consumers seek out, and advertisers are looking for.
Reactrix has created breakthrough visioning technology that actually "sees" consumers as they interact with media content. The experience transforms content into immersive and enjoyable experiences, reflecting positively on both the branded message and the location projecting the content. McDonald's, AMC Theatres and the Sony Metreon mall are three of the national brands to recently discover and validate the marketing power that Reactrix provides.
"The Reactrix display is constantly surrounded by people, many of whom are spending more than five minutes with it," said Archie Elwell, vice president of brand and business development at the Sony Metreon in San Francisco.
At the Tabu Ultra Lounge in the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas, Reactrix media tables are the highest-grossing tables in the club.
"I've been at the MGM for more than seven years, and nothing knocked my socks off until I saw Reactrix," said Rivka Paris, corporate sales manager at the Tabu Ultra Lounge. "It's not a videogame. It's not TV. It's not a billboard. It's not a computer. It's a combination of all those things. Reactrix has wowed our guests since the lounge opened up in March of 2003."
The company's proprietary technology displays a digital image onto any flat surface. As people pass or gesture over the image, it instantly reacts to their movement with accuracy and intelligence. People can interact with the image in real time, retrieve information, explore a product design or even play a game.
About Reactrix Media Systems, Inc.
Reactrix Systems, Inc. develops and markets innovative interactive media solutions for advertising, retail, event, trade show and entertainment applications. Combining digital image projection and vision technologies, the company's proprietary system projects vivid, interactive branded images that instantly respond to people who walk by or gesture over the display area, creating an "immersive" media experience that makes floors, walls and tabletops "come alive."
The company is headquartered in San Carlos, California. For more information, visit www.reactrix.com.
About Thomas Weisel Venture Partners
Thomas Weisel Venture Partners L.P. (TWVP) is a $255-million early-stage venture capital fund that invests in information technology companies, particularly in the broadly-defined software and communications industries.
The Fund targets initial equity investments of $2 million to $10 million in a range of venture investment stages, and seeks to be the lead investor. The TWVP team is actively involved in building and strengthening its portfolio companies, and has a demonstrated ability to add value to its current portfolio. For more information, visit www.twvp.com
TWVP is affiliated with Thomas Weisel Partners ("TWP"), a merchant bank focused exclusively on the growth sectors of the economy. TWP's value-added Research, Institutional Brokerage and Investment Banking groups focus on servicing the nation's top institutional investors and emerging growth companies
About Mobius Venture Capital
With offices in Palo Alto, California and Superior, Colorado, Mobius Venture Capital is a $2 billion U.S.-based private equity venture capital firm managed by an unparalleled team of former CEOs and entrepreneurs, technology pioneers, senior executives from major technology corporations and leaders in the investment banking community.
Mobius Venture Capital combines its technology expertise and broad financial assets with the industry's best entrepreneurs to create a powerhouse portfolio of over 100 of the world's leading high technology companies. For more information, visit www.mobiusvc.com.
About Worldview Technology Partners
Worldview Technology Partners, a Silicon Valley venture capital firm with more than $1.75 billion under management, has over 80 companies in its portfolio. The investment team blends operating and venture experience to help portfolio companies succeed in global markets.
Founded in 1996, Worldview combines a focused investment strategy in emerging technologies, including telecommunications and infrastructure software, with international value-added services. Worldview's international team enables its portfolio companies to more easily penetrate the Asian market for customer, supplier and manufacturing relationships and serves as a valuable source of market information and customer feedback. Worldview has an investment office in Palo Alto and business development offices in Tokyo, Singapore and London. For more information, visit www.worldview.com.
Media Contact:
Chris Knight
Cohn & Wolfe for Reactrix
415-365-8524
christopher_knight@sfo.cohnwolfe.com