SEATTLE & COLOGNE, Germany--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Make.TV, the industry-leading cloud-based, live video acquisition and management solution, today announced an initial $US 8.5 million round of funding, led by Voyager Capital. Microsoft Ventures, Vulcan Capital and Arnold Ventures also participated in the financing.
As part of the funding, Erik Benson, General Partner at Voyager Capital, will join the company’s board along with Bruce Chizen, former CEO of Adobe Systems. Jonathan Wilner, formerly VP of Product & Strategy at Telstra’s Ooyala, joins as Chief Marketing Officer.
“With today’s funding, Make.TV will rapidly accelerate its product development, marketing and sales efforts globally,” said Andreas Jacobi, CEO of Make.TV. “We are also excited that Erik, Bruce and Jonathan add additional seasoned media technology leadership to Make.TV and that new investors Microsoft Ventures, Vulcan Capital and Arnold Ventures are helping us to capitalize on the outstanding market opportunity.”
“Make.TV is driving a revolution in live video routing and curation,” stated Erik Benson, General Partner, Voyager Capital. “It’s obvious that video producers need a far easier way to acquire, curate and distribute multiple sources of live video. What Make.TV has done is built an incredibly reliable and flexible platform that allows professionals in both live television and eSports to do just that. Voyager is very excited to have another video market maker in its portfolio after its success with Elemental Technologies as a pioneer in video processing.”
“The ability to attain and circulate user-generated content is invaluable in today’s media landscape as users look to access information quickly across all screen sizes and all social feeds,” said Nagraj Kashyap, corporate vice president, Microsoft Ventures. “We’re excited to support Make.TV in helping break down digital barriers to transform the way live content is acquired, produced and distributed.”
The Make.TV Live Video Cloud (“LVC”) enables broadcasters, content rights holders and online publishers to acquire and curate user-generated and professionally produced live video from any source including mobile devices and social platforms. Make.TV customers use Live Video Cloud to curate the best content from unlimited live and near-live video sources in real-time. Publishers of all types monitor incoming live feeds, and communicate with their contributors via intercom or chat, while routing and delivering programming to their audiences anywhere, through any broadcast channel, social or OTT network. Leading media and technology companies such as the largest eSports broadcaster ESL, BAMTech/MLB, Viacom, FOX Sports Brasil, RTL2, SWR and BR, and Swiss public broadcaster SRF are among the many customers utilizing Make.TV’s Live Video Cloud.
As part of this round, other participating investors include the angel investors Andy Liu, Sanjay Reddy, Raazi Imam and Make.TV’s seed investors: the German High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF), MediaVentures, Wellen+Nöthen Ventures and dimensional Ventures.
As part of the funding, Make.TV is opening its headquarters in Seattle, WA; offices in Los Altos, CA; and expanding engineering and customer support in Cologne, Germany.
About Make.TV
Make.TV is the leading provider of cloud-based, live video acquisition and management solutions through its Live Video Cloud (“LVC”) platform. The company pioneered the use of mobile devices for contributor-based and crowd-sourced live video and provides unmatched solutions for top media, entertainment and technology companies worldwide, including ESL, MTV/Viacom, FOX Sports Brasil, and the Swiss Broadcasting Corp (SRF). Make.TV’s award-winning Live Video Cloud helps content programmers and service providers bring live and on-demand video to any screen, from any source, eSports, mobile video or traditional cameras – all at once. The company maintains offices in Seattle and Cologne, Germany. For more information, visit www.make.tv.
About Voyager Capital
Voyager Capital is a leading West Coast information technology venture firm that provides entrepreneurs with the resources, experience and connections to build successful companies. Voyager invests primarily in early stage, digital media, and software and services companies, where the firm's domain expertise, go-to-market and team building resources help build market leaders. Voyager Capital has $420 million under management with offices in Seattle, Washington; Portland, Oregon; and Menlo Park, California.
About Microsoft Ventures
Microsoft Ventures is the corporate venture arm of Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT” @microsoft), the leading platform and productivity company for the mobile-first, cloud-first world. Microsoft Ventures partners with visionary entrepreneurs looking to drive digital transformation. As part of its promise to portfolio companies, Microsoft Ventures offers unrivaled access to go-to-market resources and strategic relationships globally. Microsoft Ventures currently operates in London, New York, San Francisco, Seattle and Tel Aviv. Learn more on www.microsoftventures.com.
About Vulcan Capital
Vulcan Capital is the multi-billion dollar investment arm of Microsoft co-founder and philanthropist Paul Allen. We are not limited by traditional deal structures, asset classes or holding periods. Instead we take an entrepreneur-friendly approach and can invest in both private and public companies with a long-term investment horizon. We have no defined limits on investment size but generally target investments of $10 million to $100 million or more, as well as select smaller venture investments. Vulcan Capital was formed in 2003 and is headquartered in Seattle, with an additional office in Palo Alto.
About Arnold Venture Group
Arnold Venture Group is a Pacific Northwest-based venture capital firm which invests in innovative companies from seed through the growth stages of development. We seek to partner with high-quality management teams in sectors that a create the greatest opportunities for growth and disruption within our economy.
About MediaVentures
Media Ventures GmbH is a private venture capital company headquartered in Cologne, Germany. In our search for teams and ideas, we provide help at all stages, from start-up to growth, all the way until a company reaches maturity. We concentrate on Europe, with an emphasis on Germany, and have a broad market focus that is not industry-dependent. The package of services we offer is unique.
About High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF)
High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF) is Germany’s most active seed stage investor. With about EUR 820 million under management in three funds we provide financing for technology-driven companies active in a wide range of fields, including robotics, IoT and energy, Medtech and Biotech, chemicals and software. Investors in this public-private partnership include the German Federal Ministry of Economics and Energy, the KfW, and strategic corporate investors.
Wellen+Nöthen Ventures
dimensional Ventures
