Video startup Zype has raised $1.6 million in seed funding.
The company says it can help online publishers deliver their videos across devices. Instead of just posting their videos on YouTube or Vimeo or another platform and hoping for the best, Zype allows them to build their own sites and apps, leveraging the company’s Dynamic Player Technology to serve the best video for each viewer.
For example, when playing a video on desktops in the United States, Zype might choose the video player with the most lucrative advertising program, but that player might not work (or have the rights) in certain countries and on certain devices. So when necessary, Zype could swap in its own video player.
“I believe we’re bringing order to this fragmented world,” said co-founder and COO Chris Bassolino. “We’re taking all these different devices and endpoints making it into one seamless interface [for the publisher].”
Since officially announcing its platform last year, Bassolino said the company has signed up more than 1,400 customers, who manage more than 400,000 videos on the Zype platform. He added that those customers are often “broadcast natives or come from the broadcast world, and they’re building their own direct-to-consumer business through Zype.” (Here are some sample websites and apps created.)
The company has also built what Bassolino called a “full monetization layer,” with options for advertising, video purchases and rentals. And it’s introduced support for Internet-connected TV devices like Roku and Amazon Fire TV. He sounded particularly excited about the upcoming Apple TV, which Zype is also supporting: “Apple’s going to help the wider market really look to adopt set-top devices.”
The seed funding comes from Revel Partners and Entrepreneurs Investment Fund, as well as the following angel investors:
- John Maloney, former President of Tumblr
- Brian Fitzgerald, Evolve Media
- Geoff Judge, partner, iNovia Capital
- Michael Barrett, President & CEO Millennial Media
- Todd Barrish, SVP Strategic Partnerships, Maker Studios
- Gordon Paddison – Stradella Road
- Evan Greenberg, CEO Allscope Media
- Michael Kassan, MediaLink