Seattle-based Widevine Technologies announced today it has raised $15 million in equity funding from strategic partners Liberty Global, Samsung Ventures, and an unnamed corporation. The round looks to be an extension of a smaller amount of funding reported last month.
Widevine makes a software platform for delivering Internet video to consumer electronic devices including TVs, Blu-ray players, mobile phones, and gaming systems. Its platform includes digital rights management technology and tries to optimize the video and audio experience “over any network to any device,” according to a Widevine statement.
The company “will use the additional capital to support and grow our customer base, broaden our product portfolio and defend our intellectual property,” said founder and CEO Brian Baker in a statement.
Widevine was founded in 1999 and says it holds more than 55 patents in technical areas like content protection and video optimization. According to the company’s website, it has raised a total of more than $65 million in equity and debt financing. Its previous investors include Constellation Ventures, PaceSetter Capital Group, Phoenix Partners, Rovi Corporation, Cisco Systems, Charter Ventures, Dai Nippon Printing Co., TELUS, and VantagePoint Venture Partners.
Author: Gregory T. Huang
Greg is a veteran journalist who has covered a wide range of science, technology, and business. As former editor in chief, he overaw daily news, features, and events across Xconomy's national network. Before joining Xconomy, he was a features editor at New Scientist magazine, where he edited and wrote articles on physics, technology, and neuroscience. Previously he was senior writer at Technology Review, where he reported on emerging technologies, R&D, and advances in computing, robotics, and applied physics. His writing has also appeared in Wired, Nature, and The Atlantic Monthly’s website. He was named a New York Times professional fellow in 2003.
Greg is the co-author of Guanxi (Simon & Schuster, 2006), about Microsoft in China and the global competition for talent and technology. Before becoming a journalist, he did research at MIT’s Artificial Intelligence Lab. He has published 20 papers in scientific journals and conferences and spoken on innovation at Adobe, Amazon, eBay, Google, HP, Microsoft, Yahoo, and other organizations. He has a Master’s and Ph.D. in electrical engineering and computer science from MIT, and a B.S. in electrical engineering from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.
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