Written by Liz Gannes
Posted Tuesday, May 29, 2007 at 2:07 PM PT

 

No End in Sight for Video Startup Funding

Mozilla granted $100,000 to the Participatory Culture Foundation, makers of the Democracy (soon to be Miro) Player, a non-denominational desktop video feed application.

Though the software’s still a bit buggy, it’s still serving a need that nobody else is filling well, so it’s good to see the non-profit get funded to make things better. PCF had previously raised money from venture capitalist Andy Rappaport’s Skyline Public Works.

Click to See Media raised $8 million from Steamboat Ventures, Draper Fisher Jurvetson, and Sequoia Capital China. The company makes a technology platform for in-stream video ads. We’re scheduled to talk to them later today.

Asset.tv is doing a joint venture with Informa Investment Solutions to make on-demand video online video content for the “trust, wealth, and investment communities.” Sounds like Wallstrip, having shown it’s worth a few million bucks to CBS, has some new competition.

Also, Joi Ito says a Rocketboom-like news service has launched in Japan, called Slasla News.

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Topic: Money & Power, Startups

Comments (4)

  • That’s great news about PCF and Miro!

    Jackson West — 5:18 PM on May 29, 2007 Reply

  • Great scoop, Liz.

    Your title’s right – there’s no end in sight for video startup funding. What’s intriguing is what’s entailed in the decision making process to fund these startups. Critical numbers that need to be achieved, traffic, press…those things are asked for but there seems to be no solid ground for deciding on which video startup to invest in and which not to.

    Wonder what the implications will be in a few years if/when the space has normalized a bit more…

    -Johnny

    (Full disclosure: our company works with Memocast.com, a foreign films portal for ethnic communities, which is going through funding rounds itself).

    Johnny Chan — 5:47 PM on May 29, 2007 Reply

  • Its no surprise that the funding keeps flowing to video start-ups! Its all very logical, and until the market becomes settled with a one or two unassailable market leaders, the market will continue to be worth investing in for anybody who wants to ensure their slice of the next big consumer content medium.

    The time will come, and it may just be a few years from now, when online video consumption overtakes regular TV. As the viewers shift, the ad dollars will move with them. This means that now is the time to build the infrastructure and relationships required to be a leader in this area.

    Everybody from Google to WPP knows this, and they’re wisely fighting to buy their way in at the ground floor to avoid being left behind. I may be biased, but I believe the next global media/advertising giant will be born out of the online video arena. And no, I don’t mean YouTube!

    Mark Trefgarne — 7:26 AM on May 30, 2007 Reply

  • Well, I pity the poor investors. Another Pets.com reprise? If investors want to invest in IPTV, why not Verizon or AT&T? They can buy any technology, and they already own the walled garden in which IPTV will have to play?

    The real answer is Internet TV – is funding that? Jeremy Allaire, Robin Good and others (including your truly) have blogged about the differences. If you want more information, let me know.

    Anil Gupte — 11:24 PM on May 30, 2007 Reply

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