100ms, the live video conferencing infrastructure startup based in India, has raised $20 million in Series A funding to power the next generation of live video apps, five months after they closed the seed round.
The latest round was led by Falcon Edge's Alpha Wave Incubation with participation from Matrix Partners India and LocalGlobe. The total funding raised by the startup is $24.5 million.
The startup was founded in 2020 during a time when the founders wanted to build an app that would allow people in India to watch live matches.
We decided to build a product that would allow users to watch matches on the app and have video calls with their friends to enjoy the match. It took us four months to get the product working after we researched the solutions available out there.
In this new world, where most experiences are going to be through live videos, it should not take four months to build such platforms.
The trio had previously worked at Disney-Hotstar, one of the largest streaming platforms in India, with Gupta having extra experience as live video infrastructure project manager at Meta.
The challenge they experienced to build the app inspired them to create live video infrastructure to allow companies, ranging from those in edtech, fitness and entertainment to add Zoom-like video conferencing inside their apps and livestream the apps to platforms like YouTube and Facebook.
It took them nine months to build the new product, which made it possible for companies to integrate, test and go live within a week.
Most companies shy away from building this technology because it is very complex. It could be an edtech company doing online classes, a health tech company who is doing telehealth calls between a doctor and a patient, or somebody selling something via live commerce.
100ms is targeting businesses that use video in their applications. The image is 100ms.
Demand for their product continues to rise even as live experiences continue to be the norm, as the startup has experienced 20 times growth over the last quarter. Over 2,200 businesses have used 100ms live video infrastructure since August last year, including the Frontrow and WhiteHat Jr, Circle, and Kutumb.
I think the reason why a lot of this has happened is because we reduce integration time. We want to build template models that companies can use to personalize the live events for a more real-world experience, and we feel that this will be the beginning of our metaverse journey.
They plan to use the funding to hire more video engineers as they work to add more capabilities to the product.
The managing director of Alpha Wave Incubation, Anirudh Singh, said that online gyms are asking trainees to report their injuries. Online schools are adding libraries. Better virtual meeting experiences are what online dating apps are looking to recreate. Product makers can imagine and add live-engagement by abstracting the complexity of video streaming.
All Rights Reserved © 2024
