Videon
Alter Blog • February 1, 2022
The video entertainment ecosystem is undergoing tremendous transformation: hundreds of new on-demand streaming services being launched (some operating on a global scale), different interactive content formats engaging consumers in novel ways, more media than ever before available on myriad devices, and viewing audiences fragmenting still further challenging established business models. Although I was already grappling with these trends during my tenure at Comcast Ventures, the two recent long pandemic years have certainly witnessed their acceleration. In the midst of these disruptive changes, however, consumers are consistently drawn to the power of live video, especially for news, sports and notable events. Following a breaking news story from a citizen reporter on the spot, watching the final stretch of a Nascar or Formula1 race from the perspective of your favorite driver, switching between camera angles to get the best view of your home team’s star striker as he tries to score an equalizer before the clock runs out – these are all moments that compel us to stop what we are doing to watch. Indeed, the rise of live streaming video has been inexorable and we are still in the early innings.
At Alter Venture Partners, we are enthusiastic about our newest portfolio company, Videon, for which we led a recently announced financing round. Videon’s intelligent edge computing platform enables the processing of live video at the point of capture before the stream is transmitted to the cloud thereby reducing complexity and content production costs. Videon is able to fundamentally alter the economics of media capture, creation and distribution stimulating new personalized viewing experiences.
Videon’s co-founders, Todd Erdley and Paul Brown, had the bold vision of an edge video computing platform with powerful software tools that can perform video processing functions that today either require expensive specialized equipment or cloud-scale resources to perform. Videon’s EdgeCasterTM leverages Qualcomm silicon in a manner in which it had not previously been used and functions with a suite of flexible applications enabled via LiveEdgeTM. As a result, Videon is not only the first to market with an ultra-low latency (ULL) live video streaming solution but it is also sufficiently flexible to run applications from an ecosystem of third-party developers.
One of the most enjoyable aspects of being a venture investor is the privilege of picking the people with whom I choose to work. Given my long tenure in the industry, I have been fortunate to collaborate with several terrific “repeat entrepreneurs” multiple times in building successful companies over the years. Tricia Iboshi, Videon’s CEO, is one such capable technology executive with extensive operating experience in traditional media, streaming video and digital advertising. At Videon, my second project together with Trish, she has already attracted a deep bench of talent from different parts of the video value chain including Amazon/AWS, Brightcove, Comcast, Elemental Technologies, Turner Broadcasting, Haivision, YuMe, and Rovi and the company is still hiring! This executive team provides the keen insights needed to recognize the current challenges with streaming live video and to seize new market opportunities in a mature industry.
Videon is already working with leading media creators and distributors as well as with video technology providers. We are looking forward to additional announcements about more new product features and customers from Videon in the coming months.
For more information of Videon’s financing, please visit Trish Iboshi’s blog post.
