London-based 360-degree video and virtual reality (VR) specialist Blend Media has today announced the closure of a third funding round, securing the company £1.5 million GBP of investment, bring its total to £2.6 million.
Blend Media saw new investment come from Hambro Perks and I2BF Global Ventures along with participation from existing investors including Paul Cooper, partner at Clarity and Mark Browning, Managing Director of ITN Productions. Other shareholders include Solly Solomou, CEO and co-founder of the LADBible Group and Ben Donovan, co-founder and former President of Disney-owned Maker Studios.
The company aims to support immersive story-telling, making it easier for brands, advertisers and online publishers to source quality library material, secure professional film-makers and quickly customise and publish content. Blend has already partnered with Facebook to help grow its 360-degree ecosystem and counts Google, Greenpeace, Intel, UNILAD, AOL and McCann among its customers.
“We remove the friction of creating and using 360˚ video or virtual reality. We’ve built self-serve tools that enable marketers to create immersive video campaigns as simply as if they were using an email marketing package and publish them anywhere, including in any web browser,” said Damian Collier, Founder and CEO, Blend Media in a statement. “It’s exciting to see the huge array of innovative work that’s being produced. We’re proud to celebrate that creativity by being part of judging the best 360˚ video content at this week’s London Raindance Film Festival.”
With the new funding in place, Blend Media will further develop its platform and expand its technical, sales and marketing teams to aid its current customers.
“Blend Media stands out in the VR world because it is actively building a content market that’s real today, while also looking to the future. It already works with some of the best-known brands in the world and its creation and publishing tools will truly democratise 360˚ video,” Kate Burns, CEO Media Tech, Hambro Perks added.
VRFocus will continue its coverage of Blend Media, reporting back with any further updates.
via Mint VR