✔️ 2022-03-11 06:00:25 – Paris/France.
100ms, the India and US-based live video conferencing infrastructure startup, raised $20m in Series A funding to power the next generation of live video applications, just five months on the end of the start cycle.
This latest round was led by Falcon Edge's Alpha Wave Incubation, with participation from Matrix Partners India and LocalGlobe, and existing investors Accel and Strive.vc. It brings the total funding raised by the startup to $24,5 million.
The startup was founded in 2020 when the founders were working at Disney+ Hotstar, one of India's biggest streaming platforms, on a feature that would allow Indians to watch live matches.
“We decided to create a feature for users to watch matches on the app and make video calls with their friends to enjoy the match. We researched the available solutions and chose one of the existing video SDK vendors to do this; it took us four months to get the product working,” Kshitij Gupta, co-founder and CEO of 100ms, told TechCrunch.
"And that's where it all started, we were like no, in this new world, where most experiences are going to be through live video, it shouldn't take four months to build such platforms," added Gupta, who co-founded the startup. with Aniket Behera and Sarvesh Dwivedi.
The challenge they faced building the app inspired them to create a live video infrastructure to enable businesses ranging from edtech, fitness and entertainment to add Zoom-like video conferencing into their apps and to live stream the apps on platforms such as YouTube and Facebook.
It took them about nine months to create the new product, allowing companies to integrate, test and go live within a week.
“Most companies are reluctant to develop this technology because it is very complex… We are targeting all companies trying to integrate video into their application. It could be an edtech company offering online courses, a health technology company that makes telehealth calls between a doctor and a patient, or someone who sells something through the live commerce,” said Gupta, who previously worked as a live video infrastructure product manager at Meta before joining Disney+ Hotstar.
The startup has grown 20x over the past quarter as demand for its product continues to rise, even as live experiences continue to be the norm. Since August last year, more than 2 companies have used 200ms live video infrastructure, including Frontrow and WhiteHat Jr; the two edtech platforms, Circle; a platform for creators and brands, Paytm Insider; a live event platform and Kutumb; a community app.
“I think the reason a lot of this acceleration has happened is because we're reducing the onboarding time. We also want to create model templates that companies can use to personalize live events for a more real experience…for us, we believe this will be the start of our metaverse journey,” said Behera, who started as a banker before turning to a career in technology.
They plan to use the funding to expand its team, including hiring more video engineers, as they work to add more features to the product.
Falcon Edge's Alpha Wave Incubation Managing Director, Anirudh Singh, while commenting on the investment in 100ms, said, “Online gyms are asking trainees to report injuries. Online schools add libraries and enable 1-1 help sessions. Online dating apps seek to recreate better virtual meeting experiences. 100ms allows product manufacturers to imagine and add sophisticated live engagement, abstracting the complexities of video streaming. »
SOURCE: Reviews News
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