Crunchyroll expands its revenue stream by selling anime-related merch

Streaming video service Crunchyroll has just rolleed out a new platform that allows its viewers to purchase merchandise related to the shows they're watching, the company told VentureBeat today.

Need a second opinion? ConsultingMD’s ‘network of medical experts’ can help

ConsultingMD offers patients the opportunity to consult a leading medical expert for a second opinion -- and receive a detailed response in about 48 hours.

Hidden Path finds an angel to finance the final development of Defense Grid 2 (exclusive)

Steven Dengler, a rich guy and big fan of Kickstarter, wants to bring indie gaming to the fore.

Lockwood Publishing will debut 3D avatars in Avakin Poker (exclusive)

The developer of PlayStation Home's Sodium series has expanded to make games and 3D avatars on mobile platforms.

LevelEleven redesigns & rebrands its Salesforce app that cleverly gamifies sales

Detroit-based LevelEleven has rebranded and redesigned its flagship app that motivates sales people to generate more leads and close more deals.

Echo’s new DiscussIt app simplifies moderation for big media companies

It's a bit of an understatement to say that moderation duties are cumbersome for large media companies with fan feedback from hundreds of different communities on the web.

LocalResponse’s socially-targeted ads pay off big with revenue up 716%

LocalResponse may have solved the big problem with making mobile ads relevant.

Motion comics startup Narr8 to begin accepting submissions from indie creators

Along with the growing movement of people who like to read comics on tablets, there is an equally enthusiastic group that actually wants to make their own digital comics.

Bill.com wants to help businesses cut out the checkbooks

American consumers are increasingly making payments electronically, while their check books gather dust. So why are businesses so behind? Bill.com wants to change that.

Apple: earnings, stock price, innovation … and what the company needs to do now

"iPhone 5 sales have failed to impress. There's been a lack of innovation over the past few years to come up with the next great device, and consumers have filed to see any differentiation. Samsung has captured the market."

Nexon America hires live operations chief Ron Moravek (exclusive)

He will report to Min Kim, head of Nexon North America.

The sad long story of Fisker Automotive, ‘the largest VC-backed debacle in U.S. history’

"Fisker spent a stunning $900,000 for each vehicle it produced," PrivCo chief executive Sam Hamadeh told me. "Then they sold them to dealers for an invoice price of just $70,000."

League of Legends is crushing World of Warcraft in China’s Internet cafes (exclusive)

Tencent is giving Activision Blizzard a run for its money in the huge Chinese online gaming market.

Pinterest boards receive infusion of Dailymotion videos

Video site Dailymotion has added support for Pinterest, thus making user videos available for play on various pin boards, the company told VentureBeat today.

Narr8 takes its popular digital publishing app to the Amazon Kindle

NARR8 hopes to charge for digital comics and other content using a free-to-play business model.

IMVU continues to retain engaged fans for its virtual chat rooms

The online social-entertainment service has 3.3M monthly participants and a $55 million revenue run rate.

Why it’s easier to get games discovered on Google Play than the App Store (exclusive)

Mobile search-optimization engine tool maker SearchMan has figured out which store does better with search discovery.