JW Player raises $100MM Series E investment

The latest investment comes on the heels of what the company described as record video streaming growth and strong profitability during the previous 12 months. With the new financing, JW Player said it would accelerate product innovation to meet the rapidly changing demands of customers in the current digital video environment, expand its global go-to-market footprint across sales, marketing and channel partnerships and continue to grow and invest in building a world-class team.

The funding round also follows JW Player’s recent acquisition of live and on-demand video streaming and Digital Rights Management (DRM) solutions provider Vualto. JW Player said that immediately after the acquisition, it had seen a material uptick and influx of sales and pipeline, especially in the Latin American and Asia Pacific regions.

JW Player’s API-driven video platform sees use in independently controlling and operating mobile, OTT and online video applications at global scale. It includes what are said to be unique data-driven services and knowledge so that customers can more effectively grow and engage their audiences and generate more incremental revenue from their video investments. In the last year alone, JW Player said that its video streaming grew by nearly 200%, while its live streaming delivery increased by over 400%.

This financing arrives as the consumption of digital video continues its push to the mainstream. Indeed JW Player says that video has entered into a golden age, as part of the digital video economy. “By combining our easy-to-use video platform technology with our unique consumption and contextual data insights, JW Player has a distinct advantage in helping customers grow their audiences, create world-class video experiences on any screen, and most importantly, generate more revenue,” said Dave Otten, CEO and co-founder of JW Player. “As we enter this next phase, we are thrilled to partner with LLR. LLR’s team brings decades of unmatched support and expertise in growing industry-changing software companies and will undoubtedly help us accelerate our success as we pursue this massive market opportunity together.”

“JW Player has been at the forefront of digital video innovation ever since founder Jeroen Wijering created YouTube’s original video player in 2008. Today, the company offers the most comprehensive technology, advertising and data analytics platform in the digital video ecosystem,” added David Reuter, Partner at LLR Partners. “We look forward to partnering with the JW Player team as they expand their platform and continue to elevate the way brands can host, stream and monetise video.” Rapid TV News