Tunity, a startup that has built an app that lets users hear live audio streams from muted televisions, has secured a $12 million Series A round alongside a partnership with MGM Resorts.
A-round participants included existing investors, such as John Mack, former Morgan Stanley CEO, and Adam Neumann, Founder and CEO of WeWork, as well as MGM Resorts International.
Tunity said its platform -- helpful to consumers who are watching TVs outside the home in venues such as sports bars, airports, waiting rooms, hospitals and gyms, and for networks that eager to get a better fix on on-the-go viewing -- currently works with more than 100 channels in the U.S., including Fox, CBS and ESPN.
Tunity claimed that its app, available on Google Play and Apple’s app store, has been downloaded more than 1.5 million times.
Under the strategic partnership, MGM Resorts will use Tunity’s patented technology to “enhance their guest’s experience” by enabling them to hear any TV on its properties using the Tunity mobile app.
Tunity said its mobile app enables users to scan nearby TVs and uses the company’s cloud-based deep learning and Computer Vision technology to identify the live video stream and sync up the video’s timing with the audio, which is streamed to the user’s smartphone.
“With more than 20% of Americans watching television outside of the home, today’s announcement brings us one step closer to transforming the way consumers interact with live programming they want to watch but can’t hear,” Yaniv Davidson, Tunity’s founder, said in a statement. “Measuring these out-of-home audiences has tremendous value to brands and the networks. Extracting Tunity’s unique data insights will provide better understanding of viewing habits, and lead to more effective ad buying decisions.”
