AUSTIN, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Atmosphere (www.atmosphere.tv), the worldwide leader in streaming TV entertainment for businesses, today announced a new $80 million Series C funding round, led by Sageview Capital with participation from existing investors, Valor Equity Partners and S3 Ventures, as well as a $20 million debt facility provided by Bridge Bank. In total, the company has now raised over $140 million. As part of this latest round, Dean Nelson, Senior Partner at Sageview, will join the company’s board of directors and Roberto Avila, Principal at Sageview, will join as a board observer.
Atmosphere’s announcement comes as the company doubled its customer footprint over the past year, streaming more than 250,000 hours per day in aggregate and reaching more than 20 million unique viewers each month. Currently, the company’s free ad-supported streaming platform provides short-form, audio-optional programming across 64 channels to over 18,000 restaurants, bars, gyms, doctor offices and other venues worldwide, including Meineke Car Care, Burger King, and Texas Roadhouse. The Series C funding will be used to gain additional distribution scale, while continuing to enhance and build the company’s operations across content, marketing, and ad sales.
Optimized for viewing in public spaces, Atmosphere’s engaging content encompasses viral video compilations, extreme sports, lifestyle, art, ambient nature and entertainment. The content includes both owned-and-operated channels such as Chive TV, Happy TV, and Atmosphere News, as well as those created with partners including Red Bull, X Games, and America’s Funniest Videos.
“We were impressed with Atmosphere’s unique strategy for connecting advertisers with hyper-focused markets. We believe their capabilities will be well-received among advertisers and businesses that adopt the service,” said Dean Nelson from Sageview. “Given the company’s proven business model and strong growth, we’re excited to partner alongside Atmosphere at a stage when scaling its operation is most critical.”
Atmosphere provides hardware and programming to businesses for a one-time $99 activation fee, then monetizes content through its proprietary advertising platform and paid digital signage program which allow venues to run their own advertising between content. The company’s vertically integrated distribution model offers highly attractive unit economics by owning the customer relationship, device, content channels, product delivery, and ad tech.
“Since the invention of the TV, no one has stepped up to create content specifically for an audio-less viewing experience in businesses,” said Leo Resig, co-founder and CEO of Atmosphere. “Our partners at Sageview, Valor and S3 share our passion and vision to take the entire third space by storm. Wherever there is a TV screen, customers, and dwell time, Atmosphere should be streaming in that business. Atmosphere is the perfect solution for businesses who want to elevate their space and advertisers who are looking to get in front of an increasingly unreachable TV audience.”
Through dynamic contextual, geographic, and demographic targeting, Atmosphere reaches the right audience when they are most open to an advertiser's message, juxtaposed to premium, curated and time-tested entertainment content.
“After years of building our distribution network, our team has set the gold standard for how consumers, businesses and advertisers can engage with streaming services in public places,” said John Resig, co-founder and president of Atmosphere. “The third space is the last great frontier of tech. We’re excited that our capital partners share this vision and are looking forward to creating more opportunities for our platform to creatively engage with consumers in order to accelerate Atmosphere's mission to elevate our customers’ space.”
Footage, stills, and additional assets are available here. For more information, visit www.atmosphere.tv.
About Atmosphere
Atmosphere is a free streaming multi-channel platform for businesses offering 64 original and partner TV channels licensed for commercial venue usage. Atmosphere also provides value-added features for venue operators including a digital signage feature for businesses to run their house promotions within the content. The platform was developed using proprietary content, technology and data to deliver unparalleled experiences for businesses, consumers and advertisers. The business was incubated within Chive Media Group and spun out in 2019. For more information, visit www.atmosphere.tv.
About Sageview Capital
Sageview Capital LP is a private investment firm focused on providing growth capital and operational support to leading tech-enabled businesses. As active partners, we leverage our decades of industry experience, operational expertise, and extensive network to drive long-term value for our portfolio companies. The firm's investments include 360insights, Aceable, CallRail, Carewell, Demandbase, DISQO, Drivewyze, Elastic Path, Ezoic, MetricStream, NAM, Pantheon, Pax8, Specright, Theatro, Womply, and XSELL Technologies, among others. Sageview Capital was founded in 2006 and has deployed over $1.1 billion across 29 growth capital investments. The firm has offices in Greenwich, Connecticut, and Palo Alto, California.
About Valor Equity Partners
Valor Equity Partners is an operational growth investment firm focused on investing in high-growth companies across various stages of development. For decades, Valor has served its companies with unique expertise to solve the challenges of growth and scale. Valor partners with leading companies and entrepreneurs who are committed to the highest standards of excellence and the courage to transform their industries. Rooted in Valor’s history of food and retail technology, Valor and Starbucks identified an opportunity to develop a new model for venture investing with Valor Siren Ventures (“VSV”). The VSV mission is to be the leading innovation engine and market maker in early-stage food, food technology, agriculture and retail technology investing. For more information on Valor Equity Partners, please visit www.valorep.com.
About S3 Ventures
S3 Ventures is one of the largest venture capital firms based in Texas. Backed by a philanthropic, multi-billion-dollar family for over fourteen years, we empower great entrepreneurs with the commitment to patient capital and true resources required to grow extraordinary, high-impact companies in Business Technology, Consumer Digital Experiences, and Healthcare Technology.
About Bridge Bank
Bridge Bank, a division of Western Alliance Bank, Member FDIC, helps business clients realize their ambitions. Founded in 2001 in Silicon Valley, Bridge Bank offers a better way to bank for small- to mid-market businesses across many industries, as well as emerging technology companies and the private equity community. Geared to serving both venture-backed and non-venture-backed companies, Bridge Bank delivers a broad scope of financial solutions including capital, equipment and working capital credit facilities, venture debt, treasury management, asset-based lending, SBA and commercial real estate loans, ESOP finance and a full line of international products and services. Based in San Jose, Bridge Bank has 16 offices in major markets across the country along with Western Alliance Bank’s powerful array of specialized financial services. Western Alliance Bank is the primary subsidiary of Phoenix-based Western Alliance Bancorporation, with more than $50 billion in assets. Western Alliance is again #1 best-performing of the 50 largest public U.S. banks in the new S&P Global Market Intelligence listing for 2020 and ranks high on the Forbes “Best Banks in America” list year after year. For more information, visit bridgebank.com.
