NEW YORK: BlackRock and Goldman Sachs-backed global technology and sports content company Minute Media, which owns properties like Sports Illustrated, The Players’ Tribune, and 90 Minutes, is acquiring Indian AI startup VideoVerse.
VideoVerse’s leading product, Magnifi, an AI-driven SaaS technology platform, enables content owners and rights holders to automatically detect key moments, create highlights in real time, and distribute compelling short-form video content efficiently.
Mumbai-based VideoVerse was founded in 2016 by Vinayak Shrivastav, Saket Dandotia, and Alok Patil. The company is backed by Bluestone Equity Partners, A91 Partners (a fund by former Sequoia India execs), Alpha Wave, Evolvence India, and Moneta Ventures, and have raised $105 million in funding to date.
VideoVerse’s clients include the Indian Premier League and Women’s Premier League, FIFA+, and broadcasters Nippon TV and Clubber TV.
While financial terms were not disclosed, TechCrunch reports that Minute Media’s acquisition valuation was in a similar ball park to that of VideoVerse’s last investment round in 2023, where it was valued between $200 million and $250 million.
The addition of VideoVerse will enable Minute Media to provide unprecedented value to the sports content ecosystem, furthering both parties’ partnership capabilities. With this acquisition, Minute Media plans to deploy a fully integrated creation, distribution, and monetization solution, furthering its strategic partnerships with top teams, leagues, and federations around the world. Additionally, existing Magnifi clients will be able to seamlessly leverage Minute Media’s industry-leading distribution and monetization solutions, enhancing ROI for their video assets.
In the fast-paced sports arena, VideoVerse’s Magnifi helps partners quickly deliver standout moments to fans across platforms, capturing the essence of the game with unmatched speed and precision. Powered by AI, Magnifi leverages computer vision, natural language processing, and machine learning to analyze visual and audio cues, identify highlights, and enhance video content for fans. The product integrates GenAI features, including multilingual subtitling, automatic thumbnail generation, metadata generation, as well as a dynamic rules-based engine to automate end-to-end processing, making it an all-in-one editorial workspace that empowers content teams.
“We are thrilled to bring the passionate teams and robust capabilities of VideoVerse into the Minute Media family to bring teams and leagues a full-stack solution from creation to distribution to monetization. In addition, with VideoVerse’s technologies, Minute Media’s owned & operated brands, partners, and clients will experience and have the very best in AI-powered creation,” Minute Media founder and CEO Asaf Peled said.
VideoVerse’s technology will drive key enhancements across Minute Media’s ecosystem, strengthening the STN Video platform for leagues and publishing partners as well as driving innovative new formats across its owned and operated brands.
