Medio co-founder Michael Libes leaves for secretive Ground Truth |
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Medio co-founder Michael Libes leaves for secretive Ground Truth
Medio Systems co-founder Michael "Luni" Libes has left the heavily-funded mobile search company and is now pursuing a new idea to measure activities on the mobile Internet. The new entity is called Ground Truth, though Libes shared few details about what he's building or who's involved.
"It is a business plan. It is not a company yet," said Libes, who left his chief architect position at Medio last month.
Ground Truth's Web site only shows a logo and an email address, and Libes declined to comment beyond that. His LinkedIn profile listed him as the founder and CTO of Ground Truth, which is described as "measuring what people do on the Mobile Internet."
Seattle-based M:Metrics, which was acquired by comScore last year for $44.3 million, also measures the activities of mobile phone users with detailed reports on the amount of money and time people spend on mobile games, music, advertising and other offerings. It was unclear whether Ground Truth would compete against the comScore unit.
If the startup moves forward, Libes said he would operate it as a "stealth company" for the time being. More details could be available later this month, he said.
A well known Seattle entrepreneur, Libes has been discussing the new project with venture capitalists in the Seattle area. In addition to Medio, he also founded Nimble Corp. and 2Way.
Backed with more than $30 million in venture funding from Voyager Capital, Adobe Ventures and others, 2Way closed down in 2001. It was developing an instant messaging product for corporations. Libes also spent three years at mobile entertainment startup Mforma, bankrolled with more than $60 million from Madrona, Bessemer Venture Partners, Draper Fisher Jurvetson and others
Medio, which Libes co-founded in 2005, also has received big bucks. It reeled in $30 million from Accel Partners, Frazier Technology Ventures and others in 2006. The Seattle startup laid off an undisclosed number of staff earlier this year, and has seen executives depart in the past 18 months.
In late 2007, Chief Advertising Officer Omar Tawakol left to start Bellevue online marketing startup BlueKai. And Vice President of Product Management and Marketing John Kim left to join Pelago last summer.
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