Residents of Half Moon Bay California, there’s no need to be worried. That large roar you hear is likely the collective cheers coming from GoPro’s HQ. The Californian company just announced a new round of funding and that Best Buy is now selling most of its product line based around the popular HD Hero camcorder.
The founding comes from Riverwood Capital, Steamboat Ventures, Sageview Capital, Walden International and U.S. Venture Partners. The amount wasn’t disclosed, but GoPro’s Rick Loughery indicated to me in an email that “it’s a lot” and the company is growing rapidly and now employes over 80 people rather than the 14 this time last year. The funding will also be used to take the wearable camcorder to international markets. The HD Hero is already without question one of US’ favorite action camera and GoPro’s other announcement regarding Best Buy will further expand its popularity here in the states.
Best Buy Stores now stocks both the $299 GoPro HD Helmet Hero (1080p@60, 3D-compatible in pairs) and the $179 HD Hero (960p@30) along with a full range of accessories including mounts, adapters, batteries, the LCD BackPac and the 3D Hero System, which also for two 1080p HD Heros to record 3D video.
Alongside the financial investment comes new personal for the GoPro board with Michael Marks, former chairman and CEO Flextronics and founding partner of Riverwood Capital; Ned Gihuly, a Sageview Capital founding partner; and managing director of Steamboat Ventures, Beau Laskey.
We looked at the GoPro HD Hero back when it was announced and use two HD Heros cameras in our AutoTech car videos — well, until recently when one meet the underside of an Infiniti tire. The picture quality is above average, but the wide-angle lens and versatile mounts make them incredible handy.
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