Minute Raises $8 Million to Help Publishers Boost Video Performance
Originally published 2019-07-28, when the company was named Minute.ly. Archived article.
AI Video Enhancement Startup Minute-ly.com Raises $8 Million to Help Publishers Boost Video Performance
Published on PR Newswire
TEL AVIV, Israel, July 25, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — Minute-ly.com, a leading AI-driven video enhancement company, today announced the closing of an $8 million financing round with investors including Ansonia Holdings, and strategic participation by Infront, a leading sports marketing company. They were joined by existing investor, Gilad Shabtai. The funding will help Minute-ly.com continue to develop its AI-powered solutions and accelerate global expansion in order to meet growing customer demands for best-in-class video technology. Minute-ly.com has raised a total of $12 million in funding to date.
By 2022, IP video traffic is predicted to make up more than 80% of all IP traffic (consumer and business), up from 75% in 2017. Not only are publishers scrambling to produce enough video content to satisfy growing consumer demand, but the video industry is also struggling to efficiently monetize their expanding video content. With such a rich array of content but also fierce competition for eyeballs and a staggering array of options, Minute-ly.com’s proprietary technology – utilizing insights gathered from extensive AI analysis – gives publishers a leg up. Minute-ly.com’s solutions automatically analyze hundreds of videos, extracting the most thrilling seconds to create smart, compelling video teasers, connecting viewers with engaging, targeted content, thereby increasing viewer engagement on broadcasting sites.
“In today’s highly competitive market, Minute-ly.com gives publishers and content creators the tools they need to make the most of their video inventory, maximize revenue and cut back on costs,” said Amit Golan, Minute-ly.com’s CEO and Co-Founder. “This investment will enable us to continue to develop and scale our technology – already at the forefront of the online video revolution – helping bring more publishers and content creators into the video age.”
Christian Mueller, Infront’s Vice President of Strategy & Business Development, said: “Minute-ly.com’s technology will allow current and future clients to reach more fans around the world, optimizing marketing efforts in an efficient and reliable way to generate new revenue streams. Collaborating with a start-up aligns perfectly with our strategy of focusing on innovative client-orientated solutions.”
Minute-ly.com offers a comprehensive suite of products for content creators and publishers. The company’s offerings include: Top Videos, which automatically aggregates top performing video articles and presents internal video recommendations to consumers; mobile-first, Stories By Minute-ly.com; and Automated Preview Video (APV), which generates highly effective video teasers to increase click-through-rate (CTR) by more than 37%. The video teasers were utilized to great effect during the 2018 World Cup Russia, growing live stream audiences significantly. Minute-ly.com’s offerings are supported across all platforms to trigger audience engagement and provide new revenue opportunities.
Minute-ly.com is already a trusted partner of major sports, news, and entertainment networks, used on the desktop, native apps, OTT, social and search results of some of the Internet’s most popular sites.
About Minute-ly.com
Minute-ly.com is a leading AI-driven video enhancement solution, offering a comprehensive set of tools that empower content creators and publishers. Founded in 2014, Minute-ly.com has innovated the industry’s only real-time highlights creator for live-stream broadcasting. Minute-ly.com’s solutions automatically analyze hundreds of videos in seconds, extracting the most compelling five seconds from any video to create superior, thrilling teasers. Minute-ly.com seamlessly blends crowdsourced data and artificial intelligence using deep/machine learning to provide invaluable insights into video performance and engagement. A pioneer in dynamic video optimization, Minute-ly.com is a trusted partner of the world’s leading sports, entertainment, and news companies. The company is headquartered in Tel Aviv and New York. To learn more about Minute-ly.com, visit minute-ly.com or watch the video here.
About Infront
Infront is a leading sports marketing company managing a comprehensive portfolio of top properties. Infront covers all aspects of successful sporting events, including the distribution of media rights, sponsorship, media production, event operation and digital solutions. Headquartered in Zug, Switzerland, Infront has a team of more than 1,000 staff working from 39 offices across more than 14 countries, delivering 4,100 event days of top-class sport around the world every year.