Video data startup closes $7 million funding round to expand its TV discovery and audience targeting technology.

Mari Silbey, Senior Editor, Cable/Video

March 17, 2014

2 Min Read
Boxfish Snatches the Bait

Boxfish, the video data startup company out of Palo Alto, Calif., has raised $7 million in a Series B funding round to continue its expansion beyond second-screen apps and into data discovery and audience targeting for the main-screen TV.

As first reported by GigaOM, Atlantic Bridge led the latest funding round for Boxfish. Samsung Corp. and existing investors T-Ventures and Naya Ventures also participated. Since its founding in 2010, Boxfish has now raised more than $10 million in total.

The Boxfish technology captures and analyzes every word spoken on 1,000 television channels in real time. Initially, the company used the data to build second-screen TV guide apps with highly detailed show information for better video discovery. However, Boxfish has also worked on an API, which it is using to extend its platform to consumer electronics and TV service provider customers.

There is no shortage of competitors in the TV discovery and recommendation engine business. Companies such as ThinkAnalytics Ltd. and Jinni Media Ltd. have already racked up some impressive customer wins, while Rovi Corp. and Tribune Media Services Inc. (TMS) still largely own the traditional TV metadata market. (See ThinkAnalytics Thinks Hollywood and Jinni Powers Comcast X2 Recommendations.)

Boxfish, however, is planning to move further into the advanced advertising arena in addition to guide-based discovery and recommendation. The company wants to help service providers track viewing behavior through digital video recorders and use that information to better target ads to individual consumers.

Boxfish says that more than 100 companies are currently using its API, and it counts AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T), DirecTV Group Inc. (NYSE: DTV), and TiVo Inc. (Nasdaq: TIVO) among its customers. Samsung is also using Boxfish to support some of the new features in its latest smart TV models. With the new funding round, Boxfish is looking to hire more talent and expand further beyond the US market.

— Mari Silbey, special to Light Reading

About the Author(s)

Mari Silbey

Senior Editor, Cable/Video

Mari Silbey is a senior editor covering broadband infrastructure, video delivery, smart cities and all things cable. Previously, she worked independently for nearly a decade, contributing to trade publications, authoring custom research reports and consulting for a variety of corporate and association clients. Among her storied (and sometimes dubious) achievements, Mari launched the corporate blog for Motorola's Home division way back in 2007, ran a content development program for Limelight Networks and did her best to entertain the video nerd masses as a long-time columnist for the media blog Zatz Not Funny. She is based in Washington, D.C.

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