New York is arguably the biggest media hub in the world, and if Mayor Bloomberg has anything to say about it, it’s also a tech haven worthy of rivaling the Valley. So naturally, along with the host of media-related startups that have been cropping up across the Alley, we’re also getting a new seed fund. Helmed by ex-Medianet CEO Alan Mcglade and VC Michael Yang, it’s called DEV (Digital Entertainment Ventures, not to be confused with the abbreviation for “developer”), and it launched today to help rookie media companies via funding and advising.
According to TechCrunch:
DEV’s plan is to build up a portfolio with startups focused on new ideas in the music, TV, film, games, publishing and social media space, and they’re especially interested in investing in companies building for Internet-connected TVs, smartphones and tablets.
TechCrunch also reports that DEV has already signed its first two companies, a mobile gaming company called Mad Humans and a live music platform called StageIt.
Of course, DEV is also super excited about being based in New York. In a post on the DEV blog entitled “Why Here, Why Now,” Mr. McGlade broke out those well-worn pom-poms and expounded upon the virtues of starting a company in Silicon Alley.
“Given all the disruption in one of New York’s core industries, media and entertainment, and the continued focus on Silicon Valley as the place for new ideas, our move begs the question, ‘Why here? and Why now?’ wrote Mr. McGlade. “Because with great disruption comes great opportunity and New York, the city of reinvention, is leading the way.”
So just in case you’re keeping track, New York is now the city of reinvention, along with the city that never sleeps, the Big Apple, Gotham and Empire City.
As a side note: The DEV website also has a .vc domain extension, which we find absurdly corny, but to each his/her own.
