Couple of pieces of news out of Kickstarter headquarters this morning. First, the crowdfunding service has announced the acquisition of Canadian video streaming startup Huzza. The purchase follows a close collaboration between the two parties that led to the launch of Kickstarter Live back in November, a live streaming feature with real time feedback designed to give creators a direct channel of communication with their community.
According to Kickstarter, campaigns utilizing the platform have enjoyed a success rate of 74-percent, twice the rate of the average campaign — though, to be fair, those using the video service were already likely more plugged in and engaged than the average to begin with. Whatever the case, the Huzza acquisition marks the second ever for Kickstarter, following the purchase of music community service Drip back in March.
The acquisition means that Huzza’s founders Justin Womersley and Nick Smit will be joining the staff to help run Live, opening Kickstarter’s first international office on the startup’s home turf of Vancouver, British Columbia. Kickstarter will be hiring a bunch of engineers and designers locally to help build out that team. The company has already listed a number of Vancouver job openings to its site.
As for the existing Huzza service, that will be sunsetting by the end of the month as the team shifts its focus entirely to Live.