Theta Labs has announced a strategic funding round led by Samsung NEXT and Blockchain. Also participating in the round were Uphonest Capital, Wei Fund, Igen Fusion Capital, and other private investors. The company is now fully funded through 2021 with plans to open offices in Seoul, Singapore and London to invest globally in media partner adoption.
Theta Network is the leading decentralized video delivery protocol, giving users the opportunity to contribute their excess bandwidth and computing resources in exchange for token rewards. Video platforms that integrate the Theta Network benefit by reducing their content delivery (CDN) costs, increasing incremental revenue, and boosting viewer engagement on their platform. Platforms that have integrated Theta or are in the process of doing so include SLIVER.tv, Samsung VR, MBN, Pandora.tv, and CJ Hello.
On the heels of a successful Main-net launch on March 15, Theta Network in its first 10 days processed over 2.7 million on-chain transactions, each representing approximately 60 video segment micropayments. On average, each Theta Network user is on track to earn $16 USD per month, enough to cover a typical video platform’s monthly subscription or premium service, driving new incremental revenue. Additionally, the average session time for a Theta-powered channel on SLIVER.tv more than doubled from channels not using Theta, increasing user engagement and retention.
“Blockchain is the largest non-custodial crypto wallet in the world with over 36 million wallets created on the platform. We’re committed to investing and collaborating with projects like Theta that drive real user adoption and act as a novel way to on-ramp users into the digital currency ecosystem,” said Samuel Harrison, Managing Partner at Blockchain. “We back technology companies that use blockchain technology to power a fundamentally new and improved consumer behavior. SLIVER.tv has meaningful scale, while the Theta network fundamentally changes the value proposition for viewers consuming content, resulting in higher engagement and time spent on platform. This outcome couldn’t be achieved without blockchain technology.”
“We’ve been working with Samsung and Blockchain for some time now, and with this new funding round we look forward to align our strategic interests and invest in Theta project’s success,” said Theta Labs, Inc. CEO Mitch Liu. “We’re building a deep relationship with these two world-class companies, and with this additional investment, Theta is now fully funded through 2021 and beyond. This allows us ample time and resources to execute on our go-to-market strategy and our vision to build the leading decentralized global data delivery platform.”
