LOS ANGELES — Disney's $500 million purchase of YouTube video producer Maker Studios is a sign that the entertainment industry's content and technology startups are coming of age and proving to be as valuable to Hollywood as app makers are to the giants of Silicon Valley.

The deal announced Monday also signals Hollywood's new openness to technological innovation, an acknowledgment that media giants don't have all the answers. The acquisition comes a month after The Walt Disney Co. launched a technology startup incubator called Disney Accelerator, which promises to seed 10 companies with $120,000 each to develop ideas that'll have a big impact on entertainment and technology.

Disney's purchase price — which could hit $950 million if Maker hits performance targets — also validates the increasing value of so-called “multichannel networks.” Those are the mini media empires that provide funding and support to video creators while taking a cut of ad revenue generated from views on YouTube.

When people subscribe to these channels, they're notified when new videos are available. That helps generate regular views on multiple devices, and enables them to deliver video ads on a massive scale.

NEW YORK — Facebook is buying virtual reality company Oculus, betting $2 billion that its technology will become a new way for people to communicate, learn or be entertained.“This is a long-term bet on the future of computing,” said Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg Tuesday on a call with analysts.Irvine, Calif.-based Oculus VR Inc. makes the Oculus Rift, a virtual reality headset that’s received a lot of attention from video game developers, though it has yet to be released for consumers. The headsets cover a user’s eyes and create an immersive world that reacts to turning one’s head or moving back and forth.