Jim Breyer, the star venture partner at Accel, is a very busy man. He sits on the boards of Facebook, Walmart, News Corp, and Dell, among others. I caught up with him last week at the Techonomy conference, where he talked about what areas Accel is investing in. In Part I of my video interview above, he explains his interest in the “intersection of media, technology and consumer commerce.”
Accel’s focus these days is very much social, mobile, and global. “We have more partners in China than Palo Alto,” he tells me. Brazil is huge also.
He is also intrigued by “next-generation social TV” and how mobile and social will change entertainment consumption. “What gets us excited as venture capitalists is how the video experience is intersecting with social and changing consumption,” he says. But most media startups don’t quite yet fit the bill. “We see 10,000 media business plans a year, and we invest in about ten,” he notes.
One of those is Angry Birds, which he considers a media company and Accel just invested in (through partner Rich Wong). He hints that Accel invested in Angry Birds because of what they saw in its pipeline, as much as for what it’s already built. I came away from this interview feeling more strongly than before that the future of media is very much mobile and social, like all good things on the internet.
Jim is a Partner at Accel and is the President of Accel Management Company. Jim has been an investor in over 30 consumer Internet, media, and technology companies that have completed public offerings or successful mergers. Jim led Accel’s investment in Facebook (FB) in April, 2005, and has served on the Board of Directors since that time. He is the founding Chairman of the Compensation Committee. Jim is also currently on the board of directors of Wal-Mart Stores, Inc...
Accel Partners is a global venture capital firm with offices located in Silicon Valley, New York, London, China, and India. They typically make multi-stage investments in internet technology companies. Founded in 1983, Accel Partners has a long history of excellence and innovation in the venture capital business and is dedicated to partnering with outstanding entrepreneurs and management teams to build world-class companies. Accel today invests globally using dedicated teams and market-specific strategies for local geographies, with offices in Palo...
Rovio is an industry-changing entertainment media company based in Finland, and the creator of the globally successful Angry Birds franchise. Angry Birds, a casual puzzle game, became an international phenomenon within a year of release, and is now the number one paid app of all time. Following this success in mobile gaming, Angry Birds has expanded rapidly in entertainment, publishing, and licensing to become a beloved international brand.
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