Video platform developer Qwilt, which helps pay-TV operators and other Internet service providers to deliver OTT video content to their subscribers, has received $25 million in Series D funding. The round was led by Disrupt-ive, and brings the company's total funding to $65 million.
On the far end of the spectrum, a new service called Cameleon just launched a Kickstarter campaign to raise just $6,500 to fund development of its niche live-streaming product, which brings a "Big Brother" vibe to the home security segment.
But first, Qwilt: its signature offering, Video Fabric, is a piece of hardware that sits at an ISP's hub within their last-mile network. The software component of Video Fabric determines what publicly available online videos are going viral on that hub (being called by the ISP or cable operator's subscribers) and caches that content locally. The result: Consumers see such OTT content load faster and stream at a higher quality, and the operator customer deals with less traffic on the rest of its network.
That's a service which many ISPs may be interested in as net neutrality rules take effect and preserving their bandwidth becomes more important. According to Re/code, Qwilt's sales grew by 400 percent in the last year, and 80 providers have deployed its equipment.
So, where does Yatko's Cameleon software fit into Qwilt's picture? It doesn't, not directly. But if Yatko's product--a live streaming service built on its open source spycam.io software platform--takes off, a lot of consumers may be streaming personal video from their home out to their mobile device.
Cameleon, like spycam.io, "turns any camera into a powerful live video streaming tool." But specifically, its makers see it as a do-it-yourself remote security system. On its Kickstarter page, the Cameleon product is touted as a way for owners to keep an eye on the house while they're away--or to watch their pets or babies.
There are likely plenty of nerve-wracking "Big Brother" possibilities for the technology as well, of course. But Yatko is focusing on the positive side of its software and its ability to make home monitoring affordable (as in, free, according to the software's creators). And the popularity of such home-grown live-streaming services could be a boon to companies like Qwilt that are optimizing content delivery.
For more:
- Re/code has this story
- see this Kickstarter page
Related articles:
WWE Online, Twitch close in on Amazon in bandwidth growth
Netflix, Comcast peering deal expected to prompt others