Video startups are pervasively edging into the New York tech ecosystem, as we've seen here, here and here. Video streaming startup,
, has thrown itself into the mix, and is aiming to tackle one of the biggest issues online video platforms face today—tremendous growth in video consumption.
On Thursday, Streamroot announced a $2.5 million seed round to make it economically and technically feasible to stream faster videos with higher resolutions.
Currently, video content makes up over 60 percent of global Internet traffic, and is projected to climb up to 90 percent by 2018. While current streaming platforms rely on content delivery networks and servers to stream video, these services are expensive and don’t hold up in traffic spikes.
Streamroot solves this problem by utilizing peer-accelerated technology to decentralize saturated servers, which in turn allows users to inexpensively stream HD and 4K videos. The technology offloads the bandwidth from a traditional one-to-one connection by linking people who are simultaneously watching the same stream, allowing them to download the video directly from each other.
The startup launched in 2012, where it made its home in Paris. Since then, the company has expanded to the United States, by first participating in Boston's Techstars program and then establishing its U.S. headquarters in New York City. Streamroot strategically set up shop in New York in order to utilize the city’s vast resources in media and broadcasting.
Ultimately, Streamroot wants to make reliable, high-quality video content available to all publishers. More broadly, the startup thinks this service will be able to decentralize web traffic at scale and ultimately improve the infrastructure of the Internet.
The funding round was led by Partech Ventures, with participation from Walnut Venture Associates, Cherrystone Angel Group, Jean-David Blanc and the French BPI. The company is planning on using the recent funding to continue to grow its business across U.S. and European markets in addition to pursuing multi-device opportunities.
“On a daily basis, we handle streams with up to 50,000 simultaneous viewers and will use this capital to help the biggest broadcasters deliver high-quality content throughout the world,” said Pierre-Louis Theron, CEO and cofounder of Streamroot, in a statement.
“Next time you tune in to the Olympic Games or the Super Bowl, we want Streamroot to be powering your video.”
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