Series C Round Infusion to Fuel Sales Expansion of Video Search and Discovery for Content Owners and Consumers Worldwide
Durham, NC – April 27, 2011 -- Digitalsmiths announced today that the company closed an oversubscribed $12.5 million expansion financing. The infusion of capital accelerates domestic and international sales of Digitalsmiths’ video search and discovery products designed to provide a sorely needed upgrade to the video industry’s rudimentary content search, discovery and recommendation capabilities. Technicolor led the round; all existing investors including .406 Ventures, Aurora Funds, Chrysalis Ventures, Capitol Broadcasting and Cisco participated in the financing.
Digitalsmiths is solving – with enabling technology and innovative products - the fundamental problem content owners still face today: How can I, my distributors and consumers quickly and easily search and discover relevant video in a consumer-friendly way? Without Digitalsmiths’ ever-advancing video search and discovery products, the industry would be frozen in the dark ages. Video content owners, be they movie and TV studios, live event producers or digital, cable and satellite operators can now immediately and dramatically improve their search, recommendation and overall discovery capabilities.
“This new funding validates our market progress. Our mission is to redefine video consumption by reaching the broadest array of devices with the most powerful video discovery platform available,” said Digitalsmiths CEO and Co-Founder Ben Weinberger. “We are fanatical about helping video providers make more money by offering next generation video search and personalized discovery experiences.”
The most recent consumer example of Digitalsmiths unique search and discovery capabilities is that for the first time, in partnership with Turner Sports, NCAA March Madness fans were able to search video highlights in real-time during the tournament. The unique offering enabled fans to search for and watch top plays, dunks, three-pointers and virtually any other search term conceivable. Additionally, all video was targeted with ads using Digitalsmiths’ real-time data thus opening new revenue streams.
“The market opportunity for companies such as Digitalsmiths is huge and growing – half a billion people globally will view online video via connected devices such as TVs, games consoles or set-top boxes by 2016,” said Colin Dixon, senior analyst at The Diffusion Group. “The underlying key to monetizing this content is not just search, but actually the discovery of content. Deep metadata enables discovery and unlocks new, additive monetization models as evidenced in the capabilities of the NCAA March Madness video portal. This provides benefits to advertisers and content owners alike.”
Digitalsmiths is fanatical about video discovery, and has long worked to equip members of the video ecosystem with next-generation products to evolve search and recommendations. The company’s products help content owners and operators open the door to increased consumer viewing and provide the fuel for numerous monetization options.
According to Maria Cirino, Co-Founder and Managing Director of .406 Ventures, “Digitalsmiths continues to extend its market leadership from its acquisition of competitor Gotuit earlier this year to significant expansion of its rich patent portfolio and expanding product roster. The Digitalsmiths team has skillfully positioned themselves squarely at the center of surging demand for our unparalleled advanced video search and discovery capabilities.”
About Digitalsmiths
Digitalsmiths drives video providers’ ability to access video archives and offer personalized experiences through comprehensive, accurate and actionable video metadata. The company’s video discovery solutions are independent of content format or destination device, enabling personalized video experiences that are proven to drive more engagement and greater monetization across mobile, broadband, tablet and TV offerings. Digitalsmiths’ customers include today’s leading Hollywood studios, broadcasters, distributors and publishers including Warner Bros., Turner, The CW Network, Paramount, Telepictures and more. Visit www.digitalsmiths.com.
Contact:
Mary Kay Crocker
For Digitalsmiths
(801) 592-5575
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