News
poLight and Movidius partner to bring new digital camera experience and 3D to camera phones
poLight, the world leader in very high-speed and ultra low power autofocus actuated lenses, announced today that its actuator is enabling an enhanced experience of camera phone photography – bringing the experience closer to that of a digital still or video camera. poLight is working with multi-core processor specialist Movidius to demonstrate its capabilities at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona from 27th February. The significant capability improvements will enable new mobile applications such as Instant Focus or All-in-Focus that are currently not possible due to VCM performance limitations, but also other 3D applications such as High Quality 3D Video capture.
mTrust chooses Encap’s software-based authentication solution
Encap today announced that electronic service platform vendor, mTrust, has selected its software-based, two-factor authentication and digital signing solution. Encap's technology will be integrated into mTrust's BSP (Basic Services Platform) which offers a range of payment, identity and authentication services to financial institutions and other service providers. mTrust is the first partner to integrate Encap's full suite of authentication and digital signing solutions. Visit Encap at encapsecurity.com.
Alliance Venture participation at MWC in Barcelona
Mobile World Congress is coming up in Barcelona from February 27th until March 1st. Several Alliance Venture companies will be present: FXi and Encap will exhibit at the show (Hall 2 - Stand 2A67), Polight will have its own suite in a hotel outside the exhibition area, and Integrasco, bMenu, Novelda and never.no will be available for meetings.
Alliance Venture will host an informal tapas&wine reception on the evening of Tuesday the 28th.
For appointments and information, please contact:
Erling Maartmann-Moe +47 90 85 42 84 erling (at) allianceventure.comArne Tonning +47 45 47 70 55 arne (at) allianceventure.com
never.no launches with CBC (Canada)
Oslo/New York/Toronto: Never.no, delivering Social TV infrastructure to the world's leading broadcasters, is today Jan 29th launching in Canada, in the show "Power and Politics" on CBC. This YouTube clip is from the introduction Friday the week before launch.
Never.no is gearing up its activities in North America, look out for upcoming launches with major stations in sports, news and shows.
Contact: Kelly Moulton, VP North America (917) 324 5003
FXI demonstrates any screen connected computing
New York, NY and Trondheim, Norway – November 17, 2011 - FXI Technologies, a hardware and software startup based in Trondheim Norway, demonstrated today the world’s first any screen, connected computing USB device. Codenamed “Cotton Candy”, this sweet little device serves as a technology bridge between any display, the Cloud, and any input peripheral.
The vision for Cotton Candy is to allow users a single, secure point of access to all personal Cloud services and apps through their favorite operating system, while delivering a consistent experience on any screen. The device will serve as a companion to smartphones, tablets, notebook PC and Macs, as well add smart capabilities to existing displays, TVs, set top boxes and game consoles.
Lumesse acquires Edvantage Group
London/Oslo/Austin, Texas: 3 October 2011 - Lumesse, a global leader in integrated talent management solutions, is pleased to announce that it has signed a binding agreement to acquire Edvantage Group. Over 500,000 users across hundreds of organizations use Edvantage Group's SaaS (Software-as-a-Service) learning solutions to develop employee skills and competencies. Edvantage Group brings Lumesse world-class capabilities in learning management, content development and management, online content delivery, and custom course development. The two companies already share a number of customers and have pre-existing integrations between their respective product sets
"Social TV" hot at IBC - VizRT and never.no shows Companion App
"Social TV" and "Second screen solutions" were the hot topics at IBC in Amsterdam. never.no was ideally positioned with its Interactivity Suite and Synchronized Companion App. Vizrt, never.no and Reaktor showed the world's first Synchonized Companion App, developed for TV2 Norway for Tour de France this summer. Vizrt recently released a video from the show.
Never.no exhibits at IBC in Amsterdam
Never.no will exhibit (booth 3.A36) at IBC in Amsterdam, September 9-13, but will also be showcased at VizRT, Molden Media and others. Focus will be on never.no's 2-screen solution for TV and social media integration, successfully deployed for TV2 Norway's Tour de France program this summer, and Viasat Football, which is the most recent launch. Never.no is also shortlisted for CSI 'Best interactive TV technology or application’
New book on Social Media Analytics also covers Integrasco
A new book on Social Media Analytics by acknowledged industry expert Marshall Sponder, has just been released. The full title of the book is "Social Media Analytics: Effective Tools for Building, Intrepreting, and Using Metrics". Sponder devotes a full chapter to a case study of how Vodafone UK utilizes Integrasco's tools and analytics, and also a chapter on the story of Integrasco. The book can be ordered at Amazon (headline is link), see also www.integrasco.com
poLight raises 100 MNOK (18.5 MUSD) in Series B
poLight AS, the world leader in reflowable autofocus actuated lenses for camera phones, announced today the successful closing of its series B financing round, raising 100 MNOK (USD 18.5 million). Investinor, based in Trondheim, Norway, led the round with participation from existing shareholders Viking Venture III AS, Alliance Venture Polaris AS and SINTEF Venture III AS. poLight’s TLens (Tunable Lens) offers camera module makers next generation Auto Focus (AF) actuators based on an innovative and patented optical polymer technology that will continue to improve camera phone performance, while aggressively driving cost and size further down. poLight’s TLens products can easily be integrated into mobile phone camera modules ranging from low-end to high-end devices - as high as 12 megapixel. poLight’s technology brings superior features compared to the traditional AF solutions, reducing camera module system power consumption by half and allowing Instant Focus for video and picture capture. “Investors recognize that poLight’s technology is best positioned to bring features enhancing camera phone user experience, while leveraging semiconductor supplier for the manufacturing to ensure cost effective large volume production,” said Christian Dupont, CEO of poLight. “Customers will be able to benefit from our innovation with trusted sourcing.”
MemfoACT's Gøril Forbord winner of Technoport's Young Innovation Award 2011.
This award is a recognition of MemfoACT and the company's promising carbon membrane technology, says VP of Sales in MemfoACT Gøril Forbord.
PagePlanner 3: Step into the Future
PagePlanner Solutions AS is now introducing PagePlanner version 3, developed with the latest technology from Microsoft and Adobe. It offers full flexibility and is platform independent (Mac, PC, Web). PagePlanner 3 can produce for all channels (print, web, pad, smart phone). In addition, it is easy to integrate PagePlanner 3 with other systems, such as advertising systems, photo applications, etc. It has never been easier to produce magazines than with the new PagePlanner 3. For the first-time, PagePlanner 3 will be available in the German, Austrian and Swiss marked through flux labor GmbH in Hamburg. "PagePlanner 3 is innovative with respect to functionality and represents something completely new in magazine production. At the same time we have maintained the qualities that have made us the best-selling production system in the Nordic countries", says the company's CEO, Bjørn Jåsund.
Thomas Bostrøm Jørgensen appointed CEO of Encap
Thomas Bostrøm Jørgensen has been appointed the new CEO of Encap. Thomas was previously CEO at Luup, an international leader in domestic and cross-border mobile payments solutions and business strategies for banks and financial institutions. Thomas lead the development of Luup from a small technology-driven B2C company to becoming a recognised global leader in mobile payments solutions. Prior to Luup, he was VP of R&D at Force, a market leader in high-end Digital-TV receivers for the northern European market. He also co-founded Voycast, an innovative Video On Demand solution for the Broadcasting industry and held several positions at Tandberg Television. Alliance Venture is pleased to have Thomas on board and welcomes him warmly.
Alliance exit: PlumChoice acquires Tific
Remote technology service pioneer PlumChoice announced today it has acquired the Swedish company Tific AB, the leader in automated IT support solutions. Tific is a company in Aliance Venture Fund1.
New contract with Edvantage group gives Danish government employees access to more e-learning
Edvantage group, Europe’s leading provider of cloud-based learning and performance solutions, has been awarded a contract to provide e-learning courses to the Danish State Employer’s Authority ,within the Danish Ministry of Finance. As a result, over 40 courses designed to increase proficiency with software, including Microsoft, Open Office and Adobe, will be made available to up to 90,000 employees across Denmark’s government agencies.
Forma Publishing Group AB selected PagePlanner
The Swedish company Forma Publishing Group is one of the leading players in magazine, book and television production. Forma Publishing Group has operations in Sweden, Finland and the Baltic countries and employs approximately 400 persons. They have been in the market for a new production system for magazines and books for a while, and after evaluating a number of available systems, PagePlanner 3 was selected based on its ease of use, price and functionality.
Frost & Sullivan Award Acknowledges Novelda’s Cutting-Edge Product Innovation
Novelda has been awarded the Frost & Sullivan - 2011 Europe New Product Innovation Award in Radar Sensors. The New Product Innovation Award is presented to the company that has excelled in the following criteria: innovative element of the product, leverage leading edge technologies in product, value added features/benefits, increased customer ROI and customer acquisition/penetration potential. Frost & Sullivan concluded: “The Novelda NVA6000 Impulse Radar transceiver, an extremely advanced electromagnetic high precision sensor integrated on a single chip, offers unique penetration capabilities while bringing down the cost of ownership for its customers. It incorporates advanced design and technology that successfully eliminate previously existing technological bottlenecks. This provides it with the ability to effectively cater to a range of sensor applications – in fields ranging from medical imaging to security and surveillance."
bMenu launches bMobilized.com in the US
bMobilized is a self service platform for creating mobile versions of existing web sites. By entering your domain name, bMobilized will automatically create a mobile version of your existing website. Then the customer then gets access to online tools for customization of design, navigation and content. After 5 minutes you have a mobile version of your website which automatically resizes to thousands of phones and is kept automatically updated so you don’t need to maintain two websites to a have a mobile version. bMobilized version 1.0 of was launched in the US market in February 2011 and the main investors behind the service is Alliance Venture and Investinor
never.no exibits at NAB Las Vegas
never.no will show its revolutionary Synchonized Companion App at NAB in Las Vegas | April 11-14, booth #N3737 Additionally never.no will be present at the Vizrt booth, #SL5408, demonstrating the powerful combination of Vizrt graphic systems and our own Interactivity Suite.
SpyEye trojan and Encap in the news
Attacks on internet banks in Norway caused by the SpyEye trojan has created debate about internet bank security. Encap's solution is an effective remedy for this type of attack, as highlighted in the news.
Swedish label Darrow signs with Phonofile
Swedish label Darrow have signed a digital distribution deal with Phonofile. Darrow have an impressive catalogue including artists like The Refreshments (12 gold and 2 platinum albums), Dave Edmunds, Eva Eastwood, Johan ”J.B” Blohm, Nejra and many more.
Integrasco publishes "Mobile World Congress - Social Media's reactions to key mobile device launches "
Integrasco is one of the world’s leading providers of social media monitoring and analytics services to global brands, with a very strong position in the telecom/mobile industry Integrasco exhibited at the MWC in Barcelona, and published a full study of the product launches right after the congress.
Polight hires new CEO from mobile and semiconductor industry
poLight, the world leader in reflowable autofocus actuated lenses, today announced the appointment of Christian Dupont as Chief Executive Officer. poLight is entering an industrialisation and market deployment phase after several years of technology and product development. Christian Dupont took his position as new poLight’s CEO on September 1st, 2010. Christian joins poLight from Varioptic, world leader in liquid lens technology, where he was CEO. Prior to this, he worked for 20 years at Texas Instruments.