Philo, a startup that has developed an IP-delivered multiscreen video platform tailored for college campuses, said it has landed a $10 million “B” round as it looks to pursue “new market opportunities” and move the company’s headquarters to San Francisco.
Philo, originally headquartered in Cambridge, Mass., said the latest round was led by New Enterprise Associates, the lead investor of its “A” round, with participation from CBC New Media Group, HBO, Rho Ventures, XFUND, and Andrew McCollum, the Facebook co-founder who was appointed CEO of Philo in November 2014.
Philo (formerly known as Tivli and founded in 2010) has raised about $18.8 million so far, a figure that includes a $6.3 million A round that included HBO and Mark Cuban’s Radical Investments, a more recent $2.5 million “recommitment” from members of its investment team, and some early seed funding.
Philo’s platform, which shares similarities with Comcast’s recently launched Xfinity On Campus service and Cox Communications’ Campus Connect offering, is deployed on dozens of campuses across the country, including Harvard, Yale, University of Alabama, Sacramento State, Shippensburg University, and the University of Washington. In addition to serving up live video delivered via campus partner networks, Philo also supports authenticated TV Everywhere services such as HBO Go and has developed a network DVR platform.
Philo said the fresh funds will enable it to “expand upon its innovative product vision,” and pursue new operational and strategic initiatives, including the relocation of the company’s headquarters to San Francisco.
“Philo is changing our expectations for television,” McCollum said in a statement. “We’re questioning every aspect of the viewing experience and asking ourselves, ‘How can we make this faster, easier, and more socially connected?’ We’re finding new answers every day that aren’t possible on any other platform and building them into Philo.”
“There is significant growth opportunity for Philo with digital video, and more broadly the video entertainment market,” added Scott Sandell, managing general partner at NEA. “Philo’s content provider-friendly strategy stands out in the industry and is just one of the reasons we’re excited to be leading this raise.”
