Verizon Ventures And R/GA Announce Eight Startups Selected For The Verizon Media Tech Venture Studio

NEW YORK, Aug. 8, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Verizon Ventures, in partnership with R/GA, announces the eight companies chosen for their Media Tech Venture Studio. The selected companies represent the future of media and content across video creation and consumption, data analytics, esports, commerce, video delivery performance, machine learning, and personalization.

Beginning today, the companies selected for the program will have the opportunity to work closely with Verizon Ventures and Verizon's digital media businesses on product and technology projects, as well as R/GA's award-winning strategic marketing, consulting, branding, design, and technology teams. In addition, participants will be able to leverage Verizon's and R/GA's networks of investors, mentors, and global brand leaders from Fortune 100 consumer, enterprise, and technology companies.

Participating companies in the Verizon Media Tech Venture Studio with R/GA were carefully chosen based on product innovations that align specifically with Verizon's strategic objectives. The companies include:

• Ad Lightning eliminates bad ads and maximizes revenue for publishers and ad platforms
• cognitiveVR enables brands, marketers and researchers to extract valuable insights from virtual and augmented reality experiences
• GankStars is a top ranked, mobile-first, multi-platform competitive esports organization
• Imposium automatically puts data into videos to make them feel like they were personally made for each user
• ScoreStream is a crowdsourcing platform for local sports content
• Streamroot enables content providers to increase the quality of online video while drastically improving the economics of OTT delivery
• Transmit.Live is a media technology platform that simplifies live stream distribution and promotion with unified measurement to expand viewership
• Vidrovr automatically analyzes companies' large video collections to make content inside the videos discoverable.

"Verizon is continuously looking for ways to stay ahead of the media innovation curve and the changing ways consumers interact and engage with content," said John Doherty, SVP of Corporate Development at Verizon and Head of Verizon Ventures. "Partnering with R/GA Ventures and the new class of startups in the Media Tech Venture Studio allows us to keep our finger on the pulse of the digital media revolution while providing these startups with access to our advanced technology resources and acclaimed experience."

The program will take place at the new Alley, powered by Verizon, co-working space in New York City's Flatiron District. The workspace will enable the companies to directly interact with product leaders from Oath, Go90, VDMS, FioS, Verizon Open Innovation and Verizon Wireless.

"We look forward to bringing R/GA's award-winning services together with Verizon Ventures to help the chosen startup companies achieve meaningful scale," said Stephen Plumlee, R/GA Global Chief Operating Officer and Managing Partner of R/GA Ventures. "Verizon has long been an unparalleled leader in technology, media and innovation. They have made it their business to foster innovation through their Innovation Program, Labs, and now through Verizon Ventures and this partnership with R/GA."

The program will conclude in mid-November with an invite-only demo event, where each startup will have the opportunity to present to industry leaders, investors and press.

For more information, please visit verizonventurestudio.com and follow @rgaventures and @verizonventures.

About Verizon Ventures
Verizon Ventures is the corporate venture capital unit of Verizon (NYSE, Nasdaq: VZ) and invests in promising entrepreneurial companies that are tackling some of today's biggest technology challenges. With a collaborative approach to commercialization, Verizon Ventures is focused on helping companies connect financial resources with strategic, non-investment business functions necessary to deliver successful outcomes. Verizon Ventures partners with companies to help them scale substantively to impact society and lead to new markets. Over the last decade, Verizon Ventures has invested in more than 50 companies covering a range of industries and technologies. For more information, visit www.verizonventures.com and follow @verizonventures.

About R/GA
R/GA is connected by design. An innovation leader for more than 40 years, R/GA has expanded to offer consulting, ventures, technology, marketing, architecture, and IP development services in addition to its award-winning design practice. Its work spans web, mobile, and social communications, retail and e-commerce, product innovation, brand development, and business transformation. The company has more than 2,000 employees globally with 19 offices across the United States, Europe, South America, and Asia-Pacific. R/GA Ventures was founded in 2013 and has equity stakes in more than 70 startups that have graduated from its Accelerator and Venture Studio programs. In 2017, R/GA Ventures received a Gold rating in the Seed Accelerator Rankings Project. R/GA is part of The Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE: IPG), one of the world's largest advertising and marketing services organizations. For more information about R/GA, please visit ventures.rga.com and @rgaventures.

SOURCE R/GA