Imaginova

Last updated

Imaginova Corporation is a U.S. digital commerce company based in Watsonville, California. The company, which was started in 1999 as "Space.com" by CNN business anchor Lou Dobbs, [1] later became known as Space Holdings Corp. Dan Stone became president, chief executive officer and a board member in 2002 [2] and renamed the company to Imaginova in 2004. [3] The company sold its consumer businesses to TechMediaNetwork, formally TopTenReviews, in 2009. [4]

Imaginova promotes itself as the preeminent destination for the “intellectually curious.”

It comprises the following E-Commerce retailer: space

Imaginova previously owned Orion Telescopes & Binoculars until Orion was repurchased by its employees in November 2017. [5]

Imaginova previously owned SpaceNews until it was sold to Pocket Ventures, LLC. in 2012. [6]

Imaginova is a news provider, via the Imaginova Network of media properties, and syndicates its original content to the following news portals: Yahoo!, MSNBC, AOL and Fox News.com.

Imaginova was the developer of Starry Night software and widgets for Mac OS X, Microsoft Windows, BlackBerry, iPhone and iPod Touch. In 2008, Starry Night was acquired by Simulation Curriculum Corporation. [7]

Simulation Curriculum Corp. is headquartered in Minnetonka, Minnesota.

Imaginova is backed by investors: Blue Chip Venture Capital; Gannett Co., Inc.; RedShift Ventures; Steelpoint Capital Partners and Venrock Associates. In August 2006, the company raised $15M in growth equity financing. [8]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dow Jones & Company</span> American publishing and financial information company

Dow Jones & Company, Inc. is an American publishing firm owned by News Corp and led by CEO Almar Latour.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">News Corporation</span> American media company (1980–2013)

The original incarnation of News Corporation was an American multinational mass media corporation controlled by media mogul Rupert Murdoch and headquartered at 1211 Avenue of the Americas in New York City. Prior to its split in 2013, it was the world's largest media company in terms of total assets and the world's fourth largest media group in terms of revenue. It had become a media powerhouse since its inception, dominating the news, television, film, and print industries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fujifilm</span> Japanese conglomerate started as photographic film manufacturer

Fujifilm Holdings Corporation, trading as Fujifilm, or simply Fuji, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, operating in the areas of photography, optics, office and medical electronics, biotechnology, and chemicals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SoftBank Group</span> Japanese investment holding company

SoftBank Group Corp. is a Japanese multinational investment holding company headquartered in Minato, Tokyo which focuses on investment management. The group primarily invests in companies operating in technology that offer goods and services to customers in a multitude of markets and industries ranging from the internet to automation. With over $100 billion in capital at its onset, SoftBank's Vision Fund is the world's largest technology-focused venture capital fund. Fund investors included sovereign wealth funds from countries in the Middle East.

In-Q-Tel (IQT), formerly Peleus and In-Q-It, is an American not-for-profit venture capital firm based in Arlington, Virginia. It invests in companies to keep the Central Intelligence Agency, and other intelligence agencies, equipped with the latest in information technology in support of United States intelligence capability. The name "In-Q-Tel" is an intentional reference to Q, the fictional inventor who supplies technology to James Bond.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Myspace</span> Social networking website

Myspace is a social networking service based in the United States. Launched on August 1, 2003, it was the first social network to reach a global audience and had a significant influence on technology, pop culture and music. It also played a critical role in the early growth of companies like YouTube and created a developer platform that launched the successes of Zynga, RockYou and Photobucket, among others. From 2005 to 2009, Myspace was the largest social networking site in the world.

Markel Group Inc. is a group of companies headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, and originally founded in 1930 as an insurance company.

Marc Ostrofsky is an American entrepreneur, venture capitalist, New York Times Best Selling Author and public speaker. He is the author of the books Get Rich Click!: The Ultimate Guide to Making Money Online, and Word of Mouse: 101+ trends using technology on How we Buy, Sell, Live, Learn, Work and Play!. Get Rich Click was in the top ten of the lists of bestselling books compiled by USA Today, The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times.

i-drive

i-drive was a file hosting service that operated from 1998 to 2002.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Space.com</span> Space and astronomy news website

Space.com is an online publication focused on space exploration, astronomy, skywatching and entertainment, with editorial teams based in the United States and United Kingdom. Launched on July 20, 1999, the website offers live coverage of space missions, astronomical discoveries and reviews about skywatching telescopes, binoculars and sci-fi entertainment gear.

Orion Telescopes & Binoculars was an American retail company that sold telescopes, binoculars and accessories online and in-store for astronomy and birdwatching. It was founded in 1975 and had corporate offices in Watsonville, California. A large proportion of its products were manufactured by the Chinese company Synta for the Orion brand name. Orion Telescopes & Binoculars shipped its products to the United States and over 20 other countries. Orion put out a semi-quarterly mail-order catalog as well as email catalogs. The company was a prominent advertiser in North American astronomy magazines, such as Sky & Telescope and Astronomy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lopez Holdings Corporation</span> Filipino conglomerate and holding company

Lopez Holdings Corporation is a Filipino conglomerate founded by the brothers Eugenio Lopez, Sr. and Fernando Lopez, Sr. It has substantial holdings in the public service and utilities sector in the Philippines and serves as the Lopez family's publicly listed holding company for investments in major development sectors such as broadcasting and cable; telecommunications; power generation and distribution; manufacturing; and property development. It added to its portfolio investments in other basic service sectors but has also since sold its interest in banking, toll roads, information technology, and health care delivery.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jonathan Grayer</span>

Jonathan Grayer is the Chairman and CEO of Imagine Learning, a leading digital education technology company focused on developing digital curriculum and tools for pre-K–12 students. Grayer founded the company in January 2010 as a partnership with Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR). In January 2018, the company announced a new strategic partnership with Silver Lake Partners. Grayer previously served as the Chairman and CEO of Kaplan, Inc., a global education company and test prep provider that has been owned by Graham Holdings Company since 1984. Grayer, named CEO in 1994, grew Kaplan's revenues from $80 million to $2.3 billion when he retired from the company in 2008.

Linens 'n Things was a big-box retailer specializing in home textiles, housewares, and decorative home accessories. Based in Clifton, New Jersey, the chain operated 571 stores in 47 U.S. states and six Canadian provinces, and had 7,300 employees as of December 2006. The company's business strategy was "to offer a broad selection of high quality, brand name home furnishings merchandise at exceptional everyday values, provide superior guest service, and maintain low operating costs."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard Rosenblatt</span>

Richard Marc Rosenblatt is an American entrepreneur. He built, operated, and sold over US$3.3 billion of Internet media and content-aggregation companies. Formerly the chairman and CEO of Demand Media, Rosenblatt left the company on October 14, 2013, and currently serves as founder, chairman and CEO of Whip Media. He is also the co-founder and chairman of Autograph.

Penske Media Corporation is an American mass media, publishing, and information services company based in Los Angeles and New York City. It publishes more than 20 digital and print brands, including Variety, Rolling Stone, Women's Wear Daily, Deadline Hollywood, Billboard, The Hollywood Reporter, Boy Genius Report, Robb Report, Artforum, ARTNews, and others. PMC's Chairman and CEO since founding is Jay Penske.

Purch Group, Inc. was a New York City-based digital media company. Originally established in 2003 as TechMedia Network, Inc., it was positioned as a "portfolio of brands and products focused on purchasing decisions"—consisting primarily of websites focusing on reviews of consumer electronics, positioned to marketers as outlets to "directly engage with buyers in the right place, at the right time".

SpaceNews is a print and digital publication that covers business and political news in the space and satellite industry. SpaceNews provides news, commentary and analysis to an audience of government officials, politicians and executives within the space industry. SpaceNews details topics in civil, military and space and the satellite communications business.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Z Holdings</span> Japanese technology company

Z Holdings Corporation (Zホールディングス株式会社) was a Japanese internet holding company owned by A Holdings, a joint venture between SoftBank Group and Naver Corporation. It was founded in 2019 as a result of Yahoo! Japan Corporation's change to a holding company structure. In 2020, it merged with Line Corporation, a subsidiary of South Korean Naver Corporation, and became a subsidiary of A Holdings, a joint venture between SoftBank Group and Naver Corp. As a result, Line Corporation became a subsidiary of Z Holdings. In 2023, Z Holdings merged with four of its subsidiaries, including Yahoo! Japan and Line Corporation, to form LY Corporation.

References

  1. "Red Herring, 2006". Archived from the original on 2008-08-30. Retrieved 2007-12-06.
  2. Lyons, Charles (July 1, 2002). "Stone in pilot's seat for Space Holding". Variety. Archived from the original on June 12, 2008.
  3. "Space Holdings Enters Next Stage of Growth Plan with Name Change to Imaginova". Space.com . May 24, 2004. Archived from the original on 2008-08-29. Retrieved 2007-12-06.
  4. "TopTenREVIEWS Acquires Technology and Entertainment Web Sites Space.com, LiveScience.com and Newsarama.com, 2009". Archived from the original on 2010-12-22. Retrieved 2010-12-22.
  5. "T&H Transaction News - Tully & Holland Announces Sale of Ecommerce Company". myemail.constantcontact.com. Retrieved 2024-01-26.
  6. "Space News Announces New Ownership". SpaceNews. 3 July 2012. Retrieved 22 July 2014.
  7. Simulation Curriculum, 2008
  8. Forbes.com, 2006