Ooyala Raises $22 Million to Accelerate Global Expansion

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Ooyala Inc., the leading provider of video platform applications and services, announced today that it has raised more than $22 million in a round of financing from new and existing investors.

“This market is very receptive to Ooyala’s innovative approach to publishing, managing, and monetizing online video. ITV is pleased to have this opportunity to help build the global market leader in online video.”

The CID Group and ITOCHU Technology Ventures led the round, which also included current Ooyala investors Sierra Ventures and Rembrandt Venture Partners. Ooyala has now raised a total of $42 million in three and a half years. The round was over-subscribed, and Ooyala expects a second closing within the next 60 days to accommodate additional investor interest.

Headquartered in Shanghai, with an office in Silicon Valley, The CID Group is one of the fastest-growing Asia-headquartered venture capital firms in the world, with over $1 billion USD under management. CID has a global portfolio and has invested in more than 100 companies across 10 different industry sectors; including companies such as Ambow, Youngfast, Techwell, MorningStar and Meru Networks.

ITOCHU Technology Ventures (ITV), based in Tokyo, is the corporate venture arm for ITOCHU Corporation. ITOCHU is one of the world's largest corporations with offices in over 80 countries and operations that cover a broad spectrum of industries. ITV’s mission is to invest in and help build leading information technology companies by leveraging a vast array of resources both domestically and internationally throughout ITOCHU and its group companies. The ITOCHU group has a long history of funding information technology companies with successes including Siebel Systems, NVIDIA, Openwave and Aruba Networks.

“We are extremely excited to have CID Group and ITOCHU Technology Ventures as new investors,” says Jay Fulcher, President and CEO of Ooyala. “The entire APAC region is experiencing tremendous growth in online video viewership. These strategic investors will help position Ooyala as the leader in this large and thriving market.”

Fulcher continued, "Ooyala is at an important inflection point - and only three years after the company was founded. We are extremely well capitalized, we have noteworthy customers doing great things with our platform, we have the support of great partners who have a vested interest in our success, and we are decidedly shaping this category and the way in which online video is being adopted. This financing will accelerate our pace of innovation and new customer acquisition as we continue to set the bar for how customers utilize and monetize video. Our publishers all across the globe are intensely focused on making more money with online video - and we are helping them achieve their goals."

“The Ooyala management team and the company’s rate of growth really impressed us,” says David Yang, Partner of The CID Group. “Ooyala has truly differentiated itself by staying focused on helping publishers derive value from their video implementations. The transition from offline to online video is a consumer trend that will greatly benefit Ooyala and the other companies that are part of the video value chain.”

“Ooyala has made a great first impression here in Japan this year,” says Kaz Terada, Managing Director at ITOCHU Technology Ventures. “This market is very receptive to Ooyala’s innovative approach to publishing, managing, and monetizing online video. ITV is pleased to have this opportunity to help build the global market leader in online video.”

“The current investors are incredibly excited by the progress Ooyala has made this past year, and we look forward to working with the new investors,” says Mark Fernandes, Managing Director at Sierra Ventures. “Ooyala is one of the fastest-growing and most innovative companies anywhere – and the work Ooyala is doing with name brand companies makes this an exciting time.”

Over the past year, Ooyala has nearly doubled its global customer base, signing several hundred new publishers. Ooyala currently serves over 550 customers on 5,000 different sites, reaching over 100 million unique users per month.

Ooyala has reported record revenue and margins throughout 2010, with more than 300% year-over-year top line growth. Ooyala is expanding into new regions around the world, and just last week announced the appointment of John Treloar, a former Adobe executive, to run its Australia/New Zealand operations. In addition to its headquarters in Silicon Valley, Ooyala now has offices in Los Angeles, New York, London, Paris, Sydney and Guadalajara.

Ooyala will be at the International Broadcasting Conference (IBC) in Amsterdam from September 10th-14th.

About Ooyala

Ooyala is the leader in online video technology, including video analytics and monetization. With Ooyala's comprehensive online video platform, content owners gain deep viewer insights that drive increased video engagement and better monetization. Ooyala serves over 500 customers - mostly global media companies and web marketers - including Endemol, Fremantle Media, Johnson & Johnson, Telegraph Media Group, Glam Media, Vans, and Vice Magazine. Visit Ooyala and follow @Ooyala on Twitter.