Theta Labs, the video streaming subsidiary of esports platform SLIVER.tv, brought in $12 million through a token pre-sale aimed at creating a decentralized, blockchain-backed network for streaming vid
Theta Labs, the video streaming subsidiary of esports platform SLIVER.tv, brought in $12 million through a token pre-sale aimed at creating a decentralized, blockchain-backed network for streaming video.
Danhua Capital led the round. The funding group also included venture firms DCM, Sierra Ventures, and VR Fund, along with Chinese institutional investors Heuristic Capital, ZP Capital, and Sparkland. Japanese company Gumi participated as a corporate partner. The pre-sale also drew backing from private investors, among them a former group managing director from Time Warner Investments.
The startup, led by co-founder and CEO Mitch Liu, builds a peer-to-peer video delivery network using blockchain technology. Theta Labs says the approach solves three persistent problems in streaming: low video quality, the high cost of content delivery networks, and the limited revenue that creators earn.
"Theta is the only end-to-end infrastructure and protocol for decentralized video streaming that provides technical benefits and incentives to all stakeholders in the ecosystem," Liu said. "We are committed to powering the future of video streaming by creating the first video mesh network built on blockchain."
Dovey Wan, managing director at Danhua Capital, explained the investment. "We've been very impressed working with Mitch and the entire SLIVER.tv team since we led the company's Series A round. It's clear they are on an exponential growth trajectory and getting huge traction in the esports streaming community, their underlying video delivery technology they're developing makes all this possible," Wan said. "Content delivery networks by nature can leverage decentralization and blockchain technology very well. We are excited to be part of Theta, and its vision to disrupt and redefine the entire global video industry as we know it today."
The open-source Theta protocol enables worldwide PC users with spare bandwidth to cache and relay video, earning Theta tokens in return. Developers can build decentralized applications on top of the platform.
SLIVER.tv expects to integrate the Theta ERC20 token before the new year. Users can earn tokens, send them as gifts to streamers, and spend them on in-game virtual goods. Creators receive tokens. Brands and sponsors run ad campaigns and support creators with tokens.
The team expects the native Theta blockchain to launch in late 2018. Anyone holding the ERC20 version will exchange their tokens for the native version at a 1:1 rate.
