Blinkx video search is a start-up founded by ex-Autonomy guys with no revenues to-date. The company first started out making a web-search toolbar and then Google came out with one. So they licked their wounds and decided to do video search instead. They told everyone they had $10 million in angel funding but in reality, Autonomy (their former parent company) had a 90% ownership share in the company for the licensing of the technology that runs the Blinkx video search. So far so bad.

Later, Autonomy’s demerger filing shows that its “consumer unit” (Blinkx) had $3.8m revenues in 2006, all of which was “generated by Autonomy salespeople who are not transferring to the Blinkx business”. The proposed revenue model of the demerged company is primarily advertising-based, but “no significant “advertising” revenues have been earned to date.” The document is full of promises of potential future revenue streams as one might see in any (perfectly valid) start-up business plan. As a consumer I’m delighted to benefit from the service but as a fund manager I should be shot for buying this stock. (Investors beware!) Continue Reading »