Amagi, a cloud SaaS technology startup based in New York, has now become a unicorn after raising $95 million (about Rs 723 crore) in a new round of funding at a billion-dollar valuation.
The new investment was led by Accel, as well as current investors Norwest Venture Partners and Avataar Ventures. Amagi, which has now collected over $280 million in funding, plans to use the funds to expand its business, both in terms of its international reach and its product offering in the present media and entertainment (M&E) industry.
“This is a crucial juncture for our business as we look to hit a hyper-growth trajectory by creating a winning combination of goals, processes, team structures, and more,” said Baskar Subramanian,” CEO & Co-founder, Amagi.
The cloud-based technology startup, founded by Baskar Subramanian, KA Srinivasan (Srini), and Srividhya Srinivasan, enables creation, distribution, and monetization of live, linear, and on-demand channels via cable, OTT, and CTV-led Free Ad-supported Streaming TV (FAST) platforms around the world.
It allows content owners to create, distribute, and monetize live linear channels on ad-supported streaming TV and video platforms for free.
Amagi claims it wants to fivefold its sales and marketing efforts around the world. It will also look into allied and adjunct prospects in the cloud and video markets in order to have a bigger influence across the value chain, as well as analysing mergers and acquisitions (M&A) options that can help boost revenue or add technology capabilities to product lines.
“Our investors have a known history of crafting the success stories of companies with the promise of potential. We look forward to leveraging their astute understanding of the B2B SaaS landscape to successfully navigate the market intricacies and position ourselves for sustained success in the coming years,” Baskar adds.
Amagi claims that revenue increased by 108 percent year over year (Y-o-Y) in 2021, with a 59 percent increase in clients onboarded.
Large media conglomerates (NBCUniversal, Paramount, A+E Networks UK, and others), connected TV majors (Samsung TV Plus, Roku, VIZIO, LG Channels, and others), content owners (Tastemade, USA Today, AccuWeather, and others), and leading OTT/FAST players (Fubo, STIRR, Redbox, Rakuten TV, and others) are among the startup’s well-known customers.
“The streaming market is ripe for technologies and innovations that improve how content owners, video platforms, and advertisers engage with customers—and capture customer loyalty,” said Dave Zilberman, General Partner, Norwest Venture Partners.
According to the statement, Amagi supports more than 650 content brands, 800+ playout chains, and over 2000 channel deliveries on its platform in over 40 countries. It has its presence in New York, Los Angeles, Toronto, London, Paris, Singapore, broadcast operations in New Delhi, and an innovation center in Bangalore.