Led · Series C · May 2011

BlackArrow develops advertising solutions for 'New Television' platforms, centered on its Advanced Advertising System. The system is designed to address technological complexities and business issues within on-demand television advertising environments. BlackArrow says the Time Warner capital will be used to deploy the Advanced Advertising System to programmers and New TV content distributors. The company has a roster of strategic backers and partners that support its product deployment and go-to-market. Financially, BlackArrow recently completed a Series C funding effort that expanded the round size to $27 million. Existing investors named in coverage include Cisco, Comcast, Intel Capital, Mayfield Fund, Motorola Mobility, NDS and Polaris Venture Partners. BlackArrow offers a platform that lets cable companies and TV networks place the same ads on broadband web video, on-demand TV, and digital-video recorders, including unskippable ads on DVRs. Its technology centralizes ad management and tracking across a network’s own site, syndicated sites, and set-top boxes. That unified approach is intended to make bundled ad sales easier by aligning inventory across TV and online platforms. The company specifically targets the cable industry and television networks as customers. BlackArrow announced a $20 million financing from existing investors to support its operations. BlackArrow develops advertising technology that inserts advertisements on the Internet and into television playback, including on-demand and DVR modes. Its system is designed to prevent viewers from skipping ads during fast‑forward or other playback modes. The company claims that when a viewer forwards a TV show the 30‑second TV spots are removed and replaced with a group of pre‑roll, mid‑roll, post‑roll and companion ads. BlackArrow says the funding will be used to promote development of its advertising technology ideas. The company traces its origins to 2002 when Tom Morgan and Pat Dunbar founded the Digital Media and Advertising (DiMA) Group; BlackArrow emerged from that effort. BlackArrow is based in San Mateo, CA, and Denny Wilkinson is President and CEO. The company has raised $14.75 million in venture capital to support its product development.

Participated · Equity · Oct 2010

BNI Video develops video control software that helps video service providers in the cable, telecommunications and wireless industries manage video delivery. Its platform enables operators to extend services by incorporating different forms of content from multiple sources and supports transcoding and digital rights management. The software also includes search and social networking integration, on-demand network upgrades, and tools for system maintenance and service delivery control. The technology aims to provide additional functionality for operators and greater flexibility for consumers when viewing video. The company was founded by Conrad Clemson, a former engineering executive at Motorola, and Raman Sud, the former VP of engineering at Unidesk. BNI has raised more than $16 million from investors including Cisco, Comcast Interactive Capital, Time Warner Cable, Charles River Ventures and Castile Ventures.