10.07.2008
Cognitive Labs wins Ashoka competition: press release
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Here's the press release, link, and full text.
Also, for the first time, we're disclosing our role in financing eUniverse, the parent co. of myspace during the tech doldrum year of 2003, when we walked/emailed the deal around to a small handful of VCs (less than 5 firms) who know who they are...most passed, but VantagePoint did not. The 'unsure/no response' firm eventually chipped in after VantagePoint to acquire a majority stake.
We started the Cognitive Labs project when the media eye had not yet fallen on the MySpace/Intermix/Euniverse saga, which should be called just that...a mythical saga involving crossing the great sea in a longship. That's why the Internet ultimately can change the future of people on this planet and beyond, in every way imaginable.
Getting kicked out of your own startup and having people steal your work is no fun, that's for sure, that happened to me in my first company at the direction of a well known Silicon Valley firm...the so-called founder's haircut. But we move on.
Full text...
October 08, 2008 - (Washington, D.C. and Atherton, CA) Cognitive Labs has won Ashoka's changemaker healthy games initiative in the area of brain training, joining other health category winners including Wil Wright's Spore (EA), Konami's Dance Dance Revolution, Hope Labs' Remission, and Nintendo BrainAge.
Ashoka, a non-profit global social entrepreneuring foundation established in 1981 and based in Washington, D.C., drives change through innovative social programs that target the biggest world issues, such as poverty, emerging world healthcare, and resource consumption. It's changemaker initiative seeks to identify individuals and programs through open-source competition that are making a difference in addressing these major issues and striving to make the world a better place.
"We're delighted to receive the recognition for our work in addressing the global challenge of maintaining cognitive fitness and averting decline through early awareness," said Michael Addicott, who heads Neurogamer Studios and Cognitive Labs. "Following the passing of former President Ronald Reagan, tens of millions of people have been focused on the challenge of Alzheimer's Disease and maintaining brain fitness, impacting everyone from moguls and tech titans to everyday folks."
Neurogamer Studios researches and designs cognitive games based on neuropsychological research published at institutions such as Stanford University and University of California, Irvine through a web of Ph.D.-level scientists, aiming to make world-class science available to all.
"Anyone can put our games on their site or blog and advocate brain fitness," said Mr. Addicott, an Internet and media entrepreneur, a driving force in the financing of MySpace.com by brokering over $20 million in financing for the social network's parent company, eUniverse and its Founder and CEO, Brad Greenspan, in the dotcom gulf of 2003 that ultimately became a majority stake. News Corporation's Rupert Murdoch recently remarked that MySpace was worth $6 billion, while analysts such as RBC's Jordan Rohan have valued the co. at $10 to $20 billion. Earlier, Mr. Addicott launched UPS Online in web 1.0.
Cognitive Labs, a website and network featuring the scientifically-validated games, reaches over 600,000 users per month in the 4th Quarter of 2008.
Press release Business Contact: neurogamer@cognitivelabs.com
Also, for the first time, we're disclosing our role in financing eUniverse, the parent co. of myspace during the tech doldrum year of 2003, when we walked/emailed the deal around to a small handful of VCs (less than 5 firms) who know who they are...most passed, but VantagePoint did not. The 'unsure/no response' firm eventually chipped in after VantagePoint to acquire a majority stake.
We started the Cognitive Labs project when the media eye had not yet fallen on the MySpace/Intermix/Euniverse saga, which should be called just that...a mythical saga involving crossing the great sea in a longship. That's why the Internet ultimately can change the future of people on this planet and beyond, in every way imaginable.
Getting kicked out of your own startup and having people steal your work is no fun, that's for sure, that happened to me in my first company at the direction of a well known Silicon Valley firm...the so-called founder's haircut. But we move on.
Full text...
October 08, 2008 - (Washington, D.C. and Atherton, CA) Cognitive Labs has won Ashoka's changemaker healthy games initiative in the area of brain training, joining other health category winners including Wil Wright's Spore (EA), Konami's Dance Dance Revolution, Hope Labs' Remission, and Nintendo BrainAge.
Ashoka, a non-profit global social entrepreneuring foundation established in 1981 and based in Washington, D.C., drives change through innovative social programs that target the biggest world issues, such as poverty, emerging world healthcare, and resource consumption. It's changemaker initiative seeks to identify individuals and programs through open-source competition that are making a difference in addressing these major issues and striving to make the world a better place.
"We're delighted to receive the recognition for our work in addressing the global challenge of maintaining cognitive fitness and averting decline through early awareness," said Michael Addicott, who heads Neurogamer Studios and Cognitive Labs. "Following the passing of former President Ronald Reagan, tens of millions of people have been focused on the challenge of Alzheimer's Disease and maintaining brain fitness, impacting everyone from moguls and tech titans to everyday folks."
Neurogamer Studios researches and designs cognitive games based on neuropsychological research published at institutions such as Stanford University and University of California, Irvine through a web of Ph.D.-level scientists, aiming to make world-class science available to all.
"Anyone can put our games on their site or blog and advocate brain fitness," said Mr. Addicott, an Internet and media entrepreneur, a driving force in the financing of MySpace.com by brokering over $20 million in financing for the social network's parent company, eUniverse and its Founder and CEO, Brad Greenspan, in the dotcom gulf of 2003 that ultimately became a majority stake. News Corporation's Rupert Murdoch recently remarked that MySpace was worth $6 billion, while analysts such as RBC's Jordan Rohan have valued the co. at $10 to $20 billion. Earlier, Mr. Addicott launched UPS Online in web 1.0.
Cognitive Labs, a website and network featuring the scientifically-validated games, reaches over 600,000 users per month in the 4th Quarter of 2008.
Press release Business Contact: neurogamer@cognitivelabs.com
Labels: ashoka, euniverse, myspace, redpoint, vpvp, walden
