The History Project Secures Financial Support from The Associated Press; Adds Respected Tech and Entertainment Influencers to Advisory Board
OAKLAND, Calif., (PRWEB) March 23, 2016 -- The History Project, a platform that creates immersive digital life narratives, today announced it has added The Associated Press, the essential global news network, to its list of esteemed investors. The new funding joins the company’s Series Seed round of $2M, which was announced in November 2015 with investments from The New York Times and Matter Ventures. The company also announced today, it has appointed Jay Brown (Co-Founder and CEO, Roc Nation), Dean Drako (Founder and former CEO, Barracuda Networks, Founder and current CEO, Eagle Eye Networks), Michael Chang (CEO, Legacy Republic), Hashem Montasser (Founder, Frontlane Capital), Giles Goodwin (CEO and Founder, Flite) and Danielle Simmons (former Head of N. America PR, Ancestry) to its Advisory Board. The financial commitment from The Associated Press, one of the world’s most recognized media brands, and addition of experts from the technology, media and entertainment industries to the company’s strategic governing body, underscores the Oakland-based startup’s relevance and growth potential.
“The increasing passion and support from a myriad of respected investors and advisors illustrates the huge opportunity we have to re-envision how life and group narratives are collected and told. We are thrilled to have leaders in their respective fields give us the strategic guidance to build the right product and accelerate adoption,” said CEO and co-founder, Niles Lichtenstein. “In just a few months since our first public version we have seen our platform being used in places like the HBO Films documentary, The Diplomat, to celebrate the life of Ambassador Richard Holbrooke, and The New York Times, commemorating the 20th anniversary of NYTCo.com through oral histories, images and video.”
Just as inspiring as its use among respected media brands, The History Project is also being used by the San Francisco Tech Council to help ensure the vibrant stories of older adults in the city are captured, breaking down the digital divide and creating inter-generational collaboration. In San Francisco this service has been rolled out to two community centers to date with plans for another four in the next month.
“Creating stories to capture the lives of family members and the achievements of colleagues honors them,” said Dean Drako, President & CEO, Eagle Eye Networks. “The History Project is leading the industry in making this a simple task for the entire community.”
The History Project has the power to help millions of people create their own digital time capsules to bring to life our most precious memories: the story of a loved one’s life, or life moments such as anniversaries, engagements, marriages and births. The platform empowers people to not only capture the memory of a specific moment, but also tell the story through their own artifacts with tools and resources that can help intelligently collect, curate and collaborate.
In essence, The History Project has created a space between the momentary chatter of social media and the automation of cloud storage to create interactive narratives that re-envision how our history is passed down in a delightful and meaningful way.
“Enabling digital consumers to create a special place for their most treasured memories, beyond the streams of everyday social posts and with historical context, is a giant step forward in personal storytelling,” said Jim Kennedy, senior vice president for strategy and enterprise development at Associated Press. “The History Project is your shoebox and scrapbook memorabilia brought to digital life.”
“No other service on the market has combined the power of multimedia storytelling alongside easy to use technology,” added Lichtenstein. “Millions want to capture their own life stories or of someone they love, but the process feels too complex, tedious and overwhelming. The History Project is breaking down the silos where our memories exist and finally bringing them into a single beautiful space.”
About The History Project
The History Project is the first-of-its-kind modern memory capsule that empowers individuals and groups to connect artifacts and memories across media to build powerful experiential stories that transcend generations. It's where life stories are told better and the moments that matter are preserved into a meaningful narrative. Launched in 2015, The History Project is funded by The New York Times Company, Matter Ventures, Associated Press and angel investors. http://thehistoryproject.com
Danielle Simmons, The History Project, +1 415-812-5128, [email protected]
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