funding

Live Internet broadcasting service provider, Ustream, announced late Monday that it has secured $75 million in a Series B funding round that was led by Softbank of Japan, and that additional funding commitments are pending from other investors in the US and Asia. The company says that the funding will help it continue its growth in the US, and allow it to expand its presence in the Asia Pacific region where it is hoping to pursue opportunities in Japan, China, Korea and India.

Here is a round-up of some other interactive TV-related stories we didn't have room for in this issue:

Sezmi, a company that has developed a set-top box-based offering which it bills as "combining traditional TV content, movies and Internet video in a single, easy-to-use product and service," said Monday that it has secured $25 million in new funding from new and existing investors. The company--which last year announced that it had raised $33 million in an earlier funding round--also announced Monday that it has made its "all-in-one personalized television service" available via a public pilot in Los Angeles, in preparation for a nationwide launch next year.

Broadband video platform provider, Ooyala, announced late Monday that it has closed a $10 million Series C funding round. The round--which brings the total raised by the company to date to $20 million--was led by new investor, Rembrandt Venture Partners, and saw the participation of current investors, including Sierra Ventures. As part of the investment, Rembrandt general partner, Sik Rhee, will join Ooyala's board.

The Pentagon Channel (note: the channel, which is operated by the US Department of Defense, broadcasts military news and information for and about the 2.6 million members of the US Armed Forces) announced Monday that it is streaming its programming via live Internet broadcasting service, Ustream. A link to the new Ustream channel--which offers DOD news briefings, military news, interviews with DOD officials, short features on the work of the military, and "military lifestyle" programming--is featured on the newly relaunched Defense.gov Web site.

5min, a US-Israeli company that operates a syndication platform and destination Web site for how-to videos, announced last week that it has secured $7.5 million in Series B funding, bringing the amount it has raised to date to nearly $13 million. The round was led by new investor, Globespan Capital Partners, and also saw the participation of existing investor, Spark Capital. Globespan managing director, Jonathan Seelig, will now join 5min's board of directors.

San Francisco-based privately funded interactive video and video analytics company, Clikthrough, announced last week that it has 1) debuted 35 new interactive music videos on its Web site as a result of new partnerships with Universal Music and Slip N Side Records (note: it already has a relationship in place with Sony Music/Photogenic Records); 2) launched a new version of its proprietary video analytics product, Traffic Jam; 3) made its Clikthrough Theater online showcase of interactive videos compatible with the iPhone and other mobile browsers; and 4) raised $1 million from what it calls "influential figures in the music business," bringing the total it ha

Visual navigation specialist, Cooliris (note: the company's technologies were featured at [itvt]'s TV of Tomorrow Show in San Francisco last month), officially launched its newest application, Monday, the "Cooliris Wall." According to the company, the app allows users to scan an expansive "3D wall" of content from, for example, broadband video sites such as YouTube, social media sites such as Facebook, professional news and entertainment sites, gaming sites, and users' own computers. It is available for the PC, Mac and Linux platforms and can be downloaded at www.cooliris.com.

Clearleap, an Atlanta-based company that is developing a platform which it bills as making available "the virtually limitless diversity of video...such as any movie or TV show ever made, sports from international competitions to local high school football, special interest programs, and user-generated content...to viewers on their TV sets in the comfort of their living rooms," says that it has secured $3.3 million in venture debt financing from Silicon Valley Bank. Earlier this year, the company closed a $9 million Series A equity investment from Trinity Ventures and Noro-Moseley. Clearleap says it will use the new funding to enhance the development of its infrastructure and business management products for TV service providers and content owners.