Internet TV Start-Up Scores Funding

SAN JOSE/LONDON, October 22: The technology venture capital
fund Pond Venture Partners has completed a series A investment round in TIOTI,
a new TV programming portal.

The recently launched site
indexes TV content from across the web and currently contains links to more
than 75,000 television shows and more than 500,000 individual episodes for
download. The site also features social networking tools that allow users to
recommend shows to others and build fan communities.

The funding, a seven-figure amount, will enable TIOTI to
invest in technical infrastructure to support user growth, improve its current
online offering and extend the service to a broader range of consumers across a
number of platforms.

“The investment in TIOTI is the
culmination of a methodical and carefully implemented Pond strategy to bring
IPTV, social networking and web startups into our portfolio,” said Dr. Michael
Gera, the general partner of Pond Venture Partners and a newly installed board
member of TIOTI. “As the leader in
early-stage investments for Europe, we are renowned for carefully evaluating
our investments, looking for the best and the brightest new companies.”

Marc Colando, TIOTI’s
Seattle-based co-founder, added: “Working with Pond Venture Partners has proven
to be a wonderful experience—they are smart, savvy investors who have
already brought great insight into our market plans and strategies. They know
the IPTV market opportunities well, are fully-versed in the nuances of our
business model and IP portfolio and have already made introductions to more
than one potential additional Tioti team member. We are looking forward to
working with them to grow our company’s marketing and infrastructure to a
global level.”

—By Mansha Daswani