You.i TV, a Ottawa-based company that specializes in advanced user interfaces for a variety of video platforms, has closed a $15 million round of capital led by Kayne Partners.
You.i TV said the funding will help the company create a channel of partner agencies to build multiscreen apps for its You.i Engine SDK (software development kit). The You.i Engine, the company said, powers apps across iOS, tvOS (the OS for the new Apple TV box), Android, Amazon Fire, Xbox, PlayStation, Roku, smart TVs and set-tops that use the Reference Design Kit, the integrated software stack that’s being managed by Comcast, Liberty Global and Time Warner Cable.
You.i TV’s announced partners include Sony Crackle (for its Roku app), the TreeHouseGO app for iOS and Android, Corus Entertainment, and shomi, the multiscreen SVOD service from Rogers Communications and Shaw Communications that recently became available to all Canadians. Privately held You.i TV was founded in 2008.
“This is a unique moment in the evolution of television,” Jason Flick, co-founder and CEO of You.i TV, said in a statement. “Even Apple agrees, saying during its tvOS event last week that ‘the future of TV is apps.’ Everyone in the industry is racing to build direct-to-consumer relationships via applications, but the technical environment is so fragmented that traditional approaches just don’t scale. Our You.i Engine is the missing ingredient broadcasters need to launch truly immersive applications on every screen.”
