Veenome, the technology start-up that mines data from videos and turns that data into revenue sources for advertisers, just added another $200,000 to its second round of seed funding. CEO and co-founder Kevin Lenane reports that the latest investor group is "out of United Arab Emirates and is led by Ahmed Al Darmaki." Al Darmaki is the director of Tesla Motors, Inc. and sits on the board for Forbes magazine.
Founded in 2011 by Lenane and David Geller, Veenome has raised roughly $1.2 million to date. Though physically located in Arlington, the company is piquing the interest of international investors. Other investors include India Venture Partners, the Center for Innovative Technology in Herndon, Va., Piedmont Investment Advisors in North Carolina, and "a few others," Lenane states.
Veenome's product is an API that automatically "reads" a video and tags the content within it. The content is then categorized and can be moderated or optimized for search engines.
Advertisers and publishers use Veenome to understand what's inside large video catalogs, to trigger more relevant pre-roll ads, and to jump into "t-commerce."
"It's commerce in television," Lenane explains. "You'll be watching something, and you'll see something on TV, and decide you want to buy it. We can supply that kind of data as well."
According to Lenane, there is growing debate over whether t-commerce will take place primarily via a second screen, such as a smart phone or a mobile device, or with the primary screen via remote.
However it happens, the phenomenon is one to watch. "Anything that removes a step will be popular, as a method of purchasing," Lenane states.
Veenome is looking for a Python developer.
Allyson Jacob is a writer originally hailing from Cincinnati, Ohio, and is the Innovation and Job News editor for
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