Restream Lands $50M Series A, Launches New Streaming Broadcast Center

Multiplatform live streaming tool Restream launched its Restream Studio broadcasting production center Thursday, buoyed by a $50 million Series A round of financing.

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The new Restream Studio enables customers to broadcast live content from the cloud to millions of viewers across more than 30 social platforms simultaneously, including Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitch, Twitter and YouTube. Creators are able to brand content by adding overlays, logos and watermarks, as well as use Restream Chat and Analytics to engage with their community in real time.

Sapphire Ventures and Insight Partners led the round, which brings Restream’s total funding to $55 million since the company was founded in 2015, Alex Khuda, co-founder and CEO of Restream, told Crunchbase News. The company has previously raised about $5 million in seed and convertible notes. Additional investors in the Series A included Silverton Partners, Anorak Ventures, Liquid 2, Colopl Next, Mana Ventures and Iskra Ventures.

As part of the investment, Sapphire’s Managing Director Paul Levine and Insight’s Managing Director Teddie Wardi will join Restream’s board of directors.

Austin-based Restream, which also has a presence in the Ukraine, will use the new capital on new hires, product development, to implement new features and expand its global footprint, especially following the company’s 300 percent growth since January, Khuda said.

“We were profitable already before the raise, but we want to find the best talent we can to scale the company,” he added. “We also need to develop our use structure and invest in sales and marketing as we have a global footprint.”

Restream initially started with a focus to help gamers stream live on social platforms, but is now working with politicians, nonprofit organizations and corporations. It’s freemium service also has tiered plans ranging from $19 to $299 per month and has attracted active users including Dr. Phil, Deepak Chopra, Microsoft, Redhat, SalesForce, Ubisoft and the World Health Organization.

Prior to 2020, Restream was growing at two or three times per year, Morgan Schwanke head of business development, said in an interview. This year, due in part to needs related to remote working, the company’s growth has increased three-fold and now includes more than 2 million content creators streaming 7.5 million broadcasts per month, he added.

“Livestreaming is here to stay,” Schwanke added. “We will continue to invest and grow in that area. We are seeing rapid growth and huge potential.”

Platform photo courtesy of Restream
Illustration: Li-Anne Dias