Auditude raises $10.5 million

Millions of people upload video content onto the web daily.  Many times this content is not created by the user who uploaded it, rather, recorded from a television show and put on the web for others to see. In an attempt to solve, and monetize off this common problem for the content creator, Palo Alto based, Auditude has developed a technology to detect illegally uploaded videos, and match them with the original content creator.  Amongst its current partnership/client list are media goliaths, MTV and Warner Brothers Entertainment– leaving no wonder in why Auditude, is raising cash.

Today, Auditude, announced they have raised $10.5 million in funding.  This series B round comes from Redpoint Ventures and Greylock Partners, bringing Auditude to a total of $23 million in funding. According to their announcement Auditude plans, “to use the new funds to expand its leadership position in video management and monetization for content owners and publishers across the web.”

A simple over view of how Auditude works.  A typical Web user decides to upload a clip from last nights episode of Family Guy, to show to the world via, YouTube.  Auditude’s technology, ‘fingerprints’, this video clip – basically identifies that the clip is from a copyrighted show, Family Guy – and then adds advertisment or link overlays onto that video to get the viewer onto the owners site, or provide in-video-advertising that wasn’t originally there before.   All Auditude needs is 5 seconds of a clip in order to match it with its original source.  

In an interview with C-Net News, Auditude CEO Adam Cahan explained that more content deals are currently underway.  Cahan said, "From our perspective, we are looking to work with everybody…we are trying to tackle what I think is one of the biggest opportunities and challenges on the Internet right now, which is (that) tons of people are watching video, 80 percent of folks out there, and yet very few people are really making a business of this yet."

In the end, Auditude is offering a more realistic solution for the networks which lack control of the millions of illegally uploaded videos its copyrighted content provides.  Instead of trying to sue each uploader individually, why not make money by driving the viewers of this content to the original site where the content came from?  In turn, make money off ads.  This is the value of Auditude.