Winnipeg-Based Mobile Video Collaboration Leader Librestream Closes Financing To Accelerate Growth
- Published: Tuesday, 15 March 2016
- Author: Daily News
WINNIPEG, Man. -- Librestream has announced the company has raised $11 million in a financing round led by Emerald Technology Ventures, a globally recognized investment firm in energy, water, advanced materials and industrial IT. Emerald was joined by BDC Capital's Industrial, Clean and Energy Venture Fund as a co-investor as well as other new and existing private shareholders and investment funds. Librestream will use the funds to execute its aggressive growth plans including the addition of sales and marketing resources and acceleration of the product roadmap.
Librestream was recently awarded the Frost & Sullivan Best Practices award for Video Collaboration Solutions for Manufacturing. Its Onsight virtual presence platform is deployed globally across enterprises in manufacturing, energy, public sector and service organizations.
Related: Virtual Presence: Live visual streaming technology remotely connects experts to the field, New Technology Magazine, October 2015.
"Our solution is now deployed on every continent, driving strong business outcomes for our industrial and service customers. We feel it is critical to maintain this leadership position through aggressive growth including focused partner strategies, roadmap acceleration and international expansion," explained Kerry Thacher, president and CEO, Librestream. "Adding investors of the caliber of Emerald and BDC with their strong networks of industrial partners will help solidify our position in an exciting new market that we have been at the forefront of creating."
Charles Vaslet, partner at Emerald Technology Ventures, shared, "We identified Librestream as the leader in this growing segment for video collaboration for the industrial market. Our research was reinforced by customers and partners who confirmed Librestream's market leading position and the strong impact their products have on operations."
"We invest in capital-efficient and scalable businesses that have the potential to reach and operate across a global market. Librestream fit these criteria with their proven platform that already delivers strong value to industrial enterprises," added Geoff Catherwood, Partner at BDC Capital's Industrial, Clean and Energy Venture Fund.
Following the transaction, both Charles Vaslet of Emerald Technology Ventures and Geoff Catherwood of BDC Capital have joined the board of directors of Librestream Technologies Inc.
Librestream Technologies Inc. is the leader in developing innovative mobile video collaboration solutions for energy, field service, manufacturing and public sector industries. Deployed globally on over 10 million devices, the Onsight video collaboration platform brings the eyes and ears of experts into the field virtually to immediately resolve issues and assess environments. www.librestream.com/
Emerald is a globally recognized investment firm in the areas of energy, water, advanced materials and industrial IT. Founded in 2000, the company has raised three Venture Capital Funds, completed almost 60 venture investments, been a trusted partner for numerous multi-national corporations in their open innovation activities and managed three technology investment programs for third parties. From offices in Zurich, Switzerland and Toronto, Ontario, Emerald has managed assets of over US$660 million to date. www.emerald-ventures.com
A subsidiary of the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC), BDC Capital offers a full spectrum of specialized financing and investment solutions to help Canadian entrepreneurs achieve their full growth potential. With more than $1.6 billion under management, BDC Capital takes a strategic, patient approach to nurture companies' development over the long term. From venture capital and equity, to growth and transition capital, its team of over 100 experienced, local professionals partner with entrepreneurs to identify and meet their needs on flexible terms. Some of the sectors in which we specialize include IT, industrial/clean/energy technology and healthcare. For more information, visit www.bdccapital.ca.
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