Welcome back to Baby Breakerdom! This week's quest to uncover budding Rule Breakers finds TV in the palm of your hand and marketing at your feet.
First up this week is MobiTV, which offers TV service through your mobile phone, personal digital assistant, or laptop. On Thursday, the firm announced $30 million more in financing from a third round of funding. New investors included Adobe
Interestingly, that $30 million joined $70 million received earlier from a series of mostly Silicon Valley venture investors. What's the $100 million for? A company statement said the money would be used to build out new network technologies such as WiMAX.
That's understandable. WiMAX, which is supported by Intel
Of course, MobiTV isn't the only one with a horse in the WiMAX race. Intel and Motorola
But that's by no means a guarantee that MobiTV will have a stable delivery platform. And even if it does, is there really a market for watching TV on your phone? Or, for that matter, your laptop? I'd say so. Each morning before I begin to write, I catch up on news from the night before via video available over the Web. I'm hardly alone; MobiTV claims more than a million subscribers to its service.
In other words, mobile content is coming, Fool. And it soon may be king.
Next up is IntelliMat, which VentureWire says received $5 million in first-round funding to market a floormat designed to display digital advertisements. Frankly, I find the idea a little goofy. But the technology is impressive; using a flat screen, wireless networking, and ingenuity, the company has created a display that can be walked on or rolled over as it offers messages to buyers at the point of sale.
Call it a consequence of the TiVo
But, then again, the idea of a pitchman looking up at you from between your legs could be so creepy that consumers decide that Madison Avenue has finally gone too far. Whichever occurs, this company ought to be very interesting to watch.
That's all for now. See you back here next week when we continue the quest to find the next ultimate growth stock.
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Fool contributor Tim Beyers didn't own shares in any of the companies mentioned in this story at the time of publication. Get the skinny on all the stocks he owns by checking Tim's Fool profile . Intel is a Motley Fool Inside Value selection. TiVo is a Motley Fool Stock Advisor pick. The Motley Fool'sdisclosure policyis a rebel with a cause.