Grab nabs $12M in funding

Web-based video distributor Grab Networks closed a $12 million round of debt and equity funding. The company said it intends to use the money to support its expansion of hosted software services, perform video indexing and grow its advertising network.

The company helps media companies to re-purpose and index their content for multiple outlets and devices, syndicate their content across their own properties and through partners’ networks.

Less than 15 percent of professional video ever makes it to the Web, according to the company, and most of it is not monetized to its potential.

“We felt strongly that to tackle this problem, some company had to step up and bring together massively scalable software solutions, with massively scalable licensed content that could be syndicated across the broader Web and monetized by the biggest advertisers. Only then could we finally help media companies generate digital dollars, not just digital pennies. That cannot be done without a whole new video infrastructure on the Web, not just for advertising but video itself," explained Grab Networks CEO Fred Singer.

Grab Networks was created from the merger of Anystream and Voxant in September of 2008.

The funding came from Grab’s existing investors, which include Softbank Capital, SCP Capital, Longworth Venture Partners and Court Square Partners. The company also announced the addition of Horizon Technology Finance to lead the venture debt portion of the round.