Investment led by Blueprint Ventures and Prism VentureWorks
SAN FRANCISCO, CA, January 23, 2007 - Kiptronic announced today the completion of a $4 million round of Series A funding, led by Blueprint Ventures and Prism VentureWorks with participation from existing angel investors.
Kiptronic provides a dynamic, targeted ad insertion service to content publishers delivering video and audio to disconnected devices such as iPods, mobile phones, and laptops. Kiptronic's patent-pending technology enables major media publishers and independent podcasters to seamlessly insert ads at download time without altering existing publishing processes. This funding round fuels the company's rapid growth, expanding addressable market, and ongoing technological innovation.
"The collective industry experience, market insights and operational know-how of Blueprint Ventures and Prism VentureWorks was the ideal match for Kiptronic as we looked for investment partners to meet market demand for our technology service," said Jonathan Cobb, Founder and CEO of Kiptronic.
Bart Schachter, Managing Director for Blueprint Ventures, and Paul O'Brien, Venture Partner for Prism VentureWorks, will join Kiptronic's Board of Directors.
"Existing solutions can insert ads into streaming video viewed over the Internet, but Kiptronic has also solved the hard problem of inserting dynamic ads into offline time-shifted video and audio," Schachter said. "Kiptronic will appeal to rich-media publishers looking to ad-enable their content for both online and offline consumption."
Kiptronic's marketplace has grown to include 47 million available downloads in the fourth quarter of 2006.
"Prism looks for companies that can sustain a competitive advantage regardless of changing market dynamics - Kiptronic fits that mold," O'Brien added. "Advertising is in a state of rapid change. Kiptronic's turnkey solution addresses the new dynamics of the market without forcing customers to change the way they do business."
Kiptronic's strategic partnerships with rich media hosting providers allow content publishers to turn on Kiptronic ad insertion as a simple add-on service. Kiptronic's web server software is integrated into leading content delivery networks including Akamai Technologies and independent content publisher networks including Liberated Syndication.
"As advertising models are evolving to leverage rich media over the Internet, two key things are required: reliably scalable delivery, and seamless advertising insertion technology," said Brad Rinklin, Vice President of Marketing of Akamai. "Kiptronic has tackled the problem of ad insertion into audio and video files, while achieving high-performance delivery using Akamai's globally distributed platform. Customers will benefit greatly from this powerful combination."
About Kiptronic
Kiptronic has built a patent-pending technology service for rich media content publishers. Kiptronic provides dynamic, targeted ad insertion for video and audio files downloaded to disconnected devices such as iPods, mobile phones, and laptops. Major media publishers and independent podcasters no longer have to manually insert ads into their content - With Kiptronic, it happens on-the-fly, without altering existing publishing processes. Key partnerships with rich media content delivery networks enable content publishers to turn on Kiptronic ad insertion as a simple add-on service to manage large ad campaigns. For more information visit www.kiptronic.com.
About Blueprint Ventures
Blueprint Ventures is a San Francisco Bay Area investment firm focused on technology start-ups including components, systems, and software/services. The firm works with exceptional entrepreneurs to deliver disruptive technologies to market in a capital-efficient manner. Blueprint is the industry innovator in leading Corporate IP Spinouts by partnering with high-tech companies to commercialize their non-core, pre-revenue intellectual property. Blueprint's investment professionals provide significant entrepreneurial, operating, and investment experience to their portfolio companies. For more information, visit www.blueprintventures.com.
About Prism VentureWorks
Founded in 1996, Prism VentureWorks (Westwood, MA, Santa Monica, CA) is a venture capital firm built by experienced entrepreneurs in technology and life sciences. With approximately $1.25 billion in capital under management across five funds, Prism's primary goal is to deliver superior value to its investors. Its partners have served as the founders, CEOs and senior executives of numerous venture-backed companies. By leveraging its network of seasoned entrepreneurs, skilled executives and long-time industry contacts, Prism identifies and works closely with companies with the potential to be market leaders. For more information, visit www.prismventure.com
