A couple weeks ago, a stealthy startup called Prism SkyLabs was formed in San Francisco. Already it’s creating buzz among angel investors. It’s site is not much more than a place holder right now with this vague description:
We are pioneering ways to bring physical spaces online, creating new places for people and businesses to understand and engage each other.
A few more clues can be uncovered by looking at the two co-founders: CEO Steve Russell and president Ron Palmeri. Russell previously founded 3VR, a digital video security company where he is currently chairman. But Prism Skylabs is his new full-time gig.
Palmeri was Halsey Minor’s right-hand man at Minor Ventures, where he backed and incubated GrandCentral (now Google Voice), OpenDNS, and Scout Labs, a social CRM and brand-monitoring service sold to Lithium Technologies (which turned into a lawsuit)
So you’ve got a video surveillance expert and a Silicon Valley investor with a background in the consumer Web and social media analytics, and they want to “bring physical places online.” My bet is that they do that through video. Beyond that, we’ll have to keep digging. But it sounds like this startup is aiming squarely for the ever-expanding online-to-offline market.
We’ll keep our own video cameras trained on this one.
Disclosure: Michael Arrington has committed to invest in Prism Skylabs.
Prism Skylabs is the global leader in managing, analyzing, and optimizing offline commerce. Its unique cloud service transforms any video camera into a visual merchandising, auditing, and business intelligence tool that can be accessed from any device. Through Prism, businesses can measure offline conversion, understand long-term trends, and dig in to powerful analytics — from dwell to footpaths to product lift — using the cameras they already have. Prism Skylabs condenses customer interaction and movement into stunning imagery and reports...
As an early stage product and markets guy, Ron launched a number of highly innovative companies, including Grand Central/Google Voice, OpenDNS, Scout Labs and Swivel as managing director of Minor Ventures. As founder of MkII Ventures, Ron cofounded Prism Skylabs which is working to brings physical spaces online, creating new places for people and businesses to understand and engage each other.
Steve Russell is a Silicon Valley veteran with 15 years of experience in building and managing disruptive content networking, video search, and video intelligence technology companies. Steve is CEO and Founder of Prism Skylabs, a San Francisco technology company that brings physical spaces online, creating new ways for people and businesses to understand and engage each other. Prior to Prism Skylabs, Steve served as the CEO and Chairman of 3VR, the world’s leading video intelligence company, which he founded...
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