Lately, there is a surge in the sharing of short-form videos. Videos are considered a means of self-expression for the current generation. Especially, the industry of online gaming, which lets players live virtual lives as per their preference. As a result, there is an increase in the platforms that let users share short-form videos and many startups are venturing into this sector.
Medal.tv is a Dutch startup founded in 2015 by Josh Lipson, Iggy Harmsen, Zaid Elnasser and Patrick Rietbroek. When it was launched, the company was intended to be a social network for the gaming buffs. And, it amassed hundreds of thousands of daily active users. Now, it has raised a second round of funding.
Secures €8.1M Series A funding
In a recent move, Medal.tv, the largest platform for sharing short-form gaming clips announced the closure of $9 million (nearly €8.1 million) Series A funding. The round was led by Horizons Ventures along with participation from existing investors including Backed VC, Social Starts, and Makers Fund.
Medal.tv plans to use this investment to hire and develop business operations. It also opened up a partnership program encouraging upcoming creators to continue to expand its rapidly growing user base.
Gets new board member
As a part of the Series A funding round, Jonathan Tam of Horizon Ventures will join the board of Medal.tv. “We’re seeing sharing of short-form video emerge as a means of self-expression and entertainment for the current generation. We believe Medal’s platform will be a foundation for interactive social experiences beyond what you can find in a game,” said Jonathan Tam of Horizons Ventures.
Medal.tv: An insight!
Medal.tv is a one-stop destination for the next-generation gamers who are interested in exploring and creating gaming content for those who to share digital memories with fellow gamers via the platform. This Dutch platform supports popular game titles including Fortnite, Runescape, Roblox, Oldschool, Minecraft, Apex Legends, and more.
Currently, the platform is growing between 10% and 20% per week and creators are gaining thousands of followers on it. Gamers upload millions of short-form videos on the platform every month and are viewing more such content, claims the company.
“At Medal, we believe the next big social platform will emerge in gaming, perhaps built on top of short-form content, partially as a result of gaming publishers trying to build their own isolated gaming stores and systems. That drives social fragmentation in the market and brings out the need for platforms such as Medal and Discord, which unite gamers across games and platforms in a meaningful way.” said CEO Pim de Witte.
Medal.tv faces stiff competition
Medal.tv looks at the mobile device of users as most of the time is spent in sharing and video clips via a mobile. It plans to increase viewership via features such as adding buttons to the clips. Rivals of Medal.tv include YouTube, Gifyourgame, Athenascope, Plays.tv, and Twitch.
Stay tuned to Silicon Canals for more European technology news.
Also read,
France-based clinical imaging scaleup Quantificare raises €5M in Series A funding