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Fuze Technology, a startup that offers rentable portable phone chargers, has raised $11.5 million in a Series A round, the co-founders tell Kerry.

Why it matters: The funding is a bet on the ubiquity of depleted phone batteries and on the digital out-of-home ad network.

How it works: Founded in January 2018, the Los Angeles-based company was previously called chargeFUZE. That now serves as the name of its core product — portable phone chargers available to rent from kiosks.

President Ryan Levy says the company expects to manage more than 10,000 kiosks by the end of 2024. It operates in six countries and has partnerships with Live Nation, the U.S. Open and other big events.

Last year, the company launched adFUZE to sell ads on its kiosks' digital screens. Clients have included JPMorgan Chase, Citibank, Live Nation, Verizon, AT&T and Uber.

Zoom in: Beverly Pacific led the Series A and was joined by Palm Tree Crew, Bain Capital Ventures Scout Fund and Dream Ventures. It closed last month.

Other participants include Live Nation, ASM Global, SCIENCE Ventures, Haslem Sports Group, Simon Ventures of Simon Property Group and Fenway Sports Group's Michael Gordon.

Celebrity investors include tennis player Nick Kyrgios, YouTube star David Dobrik, Binging with Babish chef Andrew Rea, Bar Rescue's Jon Taffer, NBA player Terry Rozier and former NBA player Kenny Smith.

It raised $675,000 in 2019 and $5 million in seed funding in 2022.

Zoom out: This sector has a slew of players. Last year, Fuze Technology acquired one its competitors, MobileQubes, which expanded its network to more locations including transit systems.

FuelRod by Tricopian has kiosks across theme parks like Disney World and Busch Gardens and airports.

What they're saying: Beverly Pacific chief investment officer William F. Payne says his firm was impressed by the startup's early traction and growth, along with its new ad innovations.

"Their unique approach to integrating IoT with practical, consumer-facing solutions stood out as a potential game changer in the utility and advertising landscape," Payne says.

What's next: Fuze CEO Brandon Afari says he plans to grow the team of more than 80 employees by hiring in engineering and sales.

The funding also will be put toward research and development for future products, Afari says.

Afari says he plans to reevaluate the company's position, including possibly raising a Series B, in about a year.

Charging up

Animated illustration of a charging battery stylied as a neon light.

The X Games plans to launch a new, team-based format in 2026 that will provide a year-round international competition calendar, and it's seeking investors in the teams.

Why it's the BFD: The move underscores viewer demand for live sports as the traditional linear TV model shrivels up.

Zoom in: The X Games and its owner, MSP Sports Capital, announced the move today, and The New York Times' Dealbook reported the X Games expects a $100 million infusion from the move.

MSP Sports Capital bought the games from ESPN in 2022 for around $50 million.

What they're saying: "In essence, we've used Formula One as a model for this new X Games League," Jeff Moorad, principal of MSP Sports Capital, said in the press release. "To that end, we are creating a year-round calendar and introducing new commercial opportunities to accelerate the overall growth of X Games."

X Games seeks investors

Skateboarder Tony Hawk at the X Games in 2023. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)

Skateboarder Tony Hawk at the X Games in 2023. Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images

Sony Pictures Entertainment has acquired Alamo Drafthouse Cinema, the Texas-based movie theater chain known for its dine-in service, the companies announced yesterday.

Why it matters: It's the first time in decades that a major Hollywood studio will own a movie theater company and could open the floodgates to further studio-exhibitor acquisitions.

Zoom in: Alamo Drafthouse will be managed by Sony's newly created Sony Pictures Experiences division.

Michael Kustermann will remain CEO and report to Sony Pictures COO Ravi Ahuja.

Alamo Drafthouse will remain headquartered in Austin, Texas, and operate its 35 locations.

Film Festival Fantastic Fest, which is owned by Alamo Drafthouse, is part of the deal.

Context: The deal comes four years after the Justice Department lifted the so-called Paramount Decree, a longstanding rule preventing film production companies from owning movie theater chains.

The DOJ overturned the decree in 2020, arguing it was no longer necessary given the changing nature of the Hollywood business model and the advent of streaming from tech firms like Amazon, Apple and Netflix (which were not bound by the decree).

The rules were relaxed somewhat in the mid-1980s, allowing some smaller studios like Columbia Pictures to hold ownership stakes in movie theater companies.

Netflix has bought single-screen theaters in recent years, including the Egyptian Theatre in Los Angeles and New York's Paris Theater. Disney has owned the El Capitan Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard since the late 1980s.

The big picture: The summer box office has been weak, down 28% year to date, with studios looking for new ways to lure consumers to theaters.

Catch up quick: Alamo Drafthouse filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2021 amid the COVID-induced movie theater closings.

It was bought out of bankruptcy later that year by Altamont Capital Partners, Fortress Investment Group and original co-founder Tim League.

Movie theater lifeline

General views of Alamo Drafthouse Cinema movie theater at The Bloc shopping center on January 05, 2022 in Los Angeles, California

Go deeper in our full database in the Axios Pro Deals Tracker.

• 🏀 Comcast (Nasdaq: CMCSA) and Warner Bros. Discovery (Nasdaq: WBD) are close to a media rights deal with the Big East conference that will put basketball games on NBC and TNT starting in 2025, The Athletic reports. axios.link/4ci8lrw

• NIP Group Inc., an esports company backed by Hong Kong pop star Jackson Wang, has filed for an IPO in the U.S. axios.link/3XEZ48X

Deal flow

• Bob Roback, former CEO of Ingrooves Music Group, was named COO for UTA. axios.link/4aYI68j

• Jay Stevens joined Permutive as chief commercial officer. He was previously GM, international for MNTN. axios.link/3Xnp6xg

• Jennifer Koester was promoted to president and COO for Sphere Entertainment. axios.link/3L0YXgp

• Marcy Pritchard, a Nickelodeon veteran, was named VP of production at animation studio Titmouse. axios.link/3VohSGx

Movin' on up (or out)

💸 Why Oracle is shutting down its advertising business, which once brought in billions in revenue (BI)

"Oracle spent more than $4 billion acquiring companies to compete for ad dollars over the years. In 2014, Oracle bought marketing tech firm BlueKai for a reported $400 million and data broker Datalogix for $1.2 billion. Oracle bought once-buzzy measurement firm Moat in 2017 for a reported $850 million," Lauren Johnson writes.

📺 Edward Norton's challenging new role could put him in TV's battle for advertising dollars (Variety)

"While most tabulations of TV audiences hinge on calculating how many people see a show or a commercial, EDO does something decidedly different: It examines search activity tied to the appearance of a program or ad on TV," Brian Steinberg writes.

⚖️ Behind Netflix's real-life legal dramas (THR)

"As Netflix confronts a torrent of defamation lawsuits, a steadily growing body of case law is chipping away at legal protections once thought to provide sweeping cover for dramatizations," Winston Cho writes.

Channel surfing

Illustration of a remote control in the shape of a surfboard leaning against a VW bus.

@tim_bays: "The Boys" on Prime Video. The best comic book TV series is back. 

@kerrymflynn: "Bad Boys: Ride or Die" at AMC Theatres. Fun film. Will Smith and Martin Lawrence's chemistry is incredible, and I cackled at some of the cameos. 

✏️ Thanks to Michael Flaherty for editing and Katie Lewis for copy editing this newsletter.

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June 13, 2024

1 big thing: Charging up