Inscape is a provider of
ACR services to Smart TV OEMs. The company was founded in 2009 as TV Interactive Systems later renamed Cognitive Media Networks Inc. On August 10, 2015,
Vizio
Vizio Inc. (stylized as VIZIO) is an American publicly traded company that designs and sells televisions, sound bars, viewer data, and advertising. The company was founded in 2002 and is based in Irvine, California.Lawton, Christopher, Iwatani ...
acquired Cognitive Media Networks and renamed it Inscape. In July 2016
Vizio
Vizio Inc. (stylized as VIZIO) is an American publicly traded company that designs and sells televisions, sound bars, viewer data, and advertising. The company was founded in 2002 and is based in Irvine, California.Lawton, Christopher, Iwatani ...
announced Inscape will spin off and operate as a separate, privately owned company.
History
Inscape was founded in 2009 by Zeev Neumeier as TV Interactive Systems.
In 2012 the company raised $2.5 million in funding from Rogers Venture Partners, rebranded as Cognitive Networks, and hired Michael Collette as its CEO.
On August 28, 2013,
LG announced its LivePlus interactive service powered by Cognitive Network
ACR.
LG subsequently partnered with
Showtime Network
Showtime is an American premium television network owned by Paramount Media Networks, and is the flagship property of the namesake parent company, Showtime Networks, a part of Paramount Media Networks. Showtime's programming primarily includ ...
to launch in-program interactivity using Cognitive Network ACR.
On August 10, 2015, Vizio acquired Cognitive Networks and renamed it Inscape
In July 2016
Vizio
Vizio Inc. (stylized as VIZIO) is an American publicly traded company that designs and sells televisions, sound bars, viewer data, and advertising. The company was founded in 2002 and is based in Irvine, California.Lawton, Christopher, Iwatani ...
announced Inscape will spin off and operate as a separate, privately owned company with past
Vizio
Vizio Inc. (stylized as VIZIO) is an American publicly traded company that designs and sells televisions, sound bars, viewer data, and advertising. The company was founded in 2002 and is based in Irvine, California.Lawton, Christopher, Iwatani ...
CEO
William Wang
William Wang () is a Taiwanese American billionaire entrepreneur, and the founder and CEO of Vizio.
Early life
Wang was born in Taipei, Taiwan, moved to Hawaii, United States at the age of 12, and then to California at the age of 14. H ...
as new CEO.
On November 9, 2015, privacy advocate
Julia Angwin
Julia Angwin is a Pulitzer Prize-winning American investigative journalist, New York Times bestselling author, and entrepreneur. She is co-founder and editor-in-chief of The Markup, a nonprofit newsroom that investigates the impact of technology ...
exposed the Inscape technology within Vizio televisions in an investigative piece for Pro Publica.
Technology journals like
Ars Technica
''Ars Technica'' is a website covering news and opinions in technology, science, politics, and society, created by Ken Fisher and Jon Stokes in 1998. It publishes news, reviews, and guides on issues such as computer hardware and software, sc ...
investigated the matter and found that not only was Vizio observing its customers viewing behavior, it was quite easy for its software to be hacked and observed by third parties. Shortly after these reports, both Vizio and its subsidiary Inscape Data Services were named in numerous class action lawsuits for violation of the
Video Privacy Protection Act
The Video Privacy Protection Act (VPPA) is a bill that was passed by the United States Congress in 1988 as and signed into law by President Ronald Reagan. It was created to prevent what it refers to as "wrongful disclosure of video tape rental ...
.
References
{{Reflist
Companies based in San Francisco