Sky has invested in You.i TV, a company that lets customers deploy video apps across a range of connected devices using a single codebase.
The investment, which was announced this week without the value being disclosed, is part of a larger Series C funding round that You.i TV announced in November 2018.
With the move, David Beazley, the Director of Software Engineering for Sky’s over-the-top service, Now TV, joins the You.i TV board, alongside representatives from AT&T, Causeway Media Partners and investment management firm Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors.
“Sky and You.i TV share a vision to connect customers to great content, via easy, frictionless user experiences,” said Beazley. “Through this investment, both Sky and You.i TV will be able to share learnings and gain insights into how world-class viewing experiences can be easily replicated across multiple devices.”
You.i TV CEO and Co-Founder Jason Flick said: “The backing of Sky, alongside our existing strategic investors, highlights the fact that You.i TV is at the forefront of the trend solving the world of device fragmentation as consumers demand content everywhere”.
“With the support of this unparalleled group of strategic investors we look forward to fuelling the expansion of You.i TV’s global footprint, developer community, and reimagining the ad experience”.
You.i TV lets teams deploy video apps across mobile, tablet, games consoles, streaming devices, set-top boxes and smart TVs. The company supports React Native, an open-source mobile application framework that was created by Facebook and lets users to build apps using only JavaScript.
You.i TV is privately owned, its corporate office is in Ottawa, Canada, and the company counts A+E Networks, AT&T, Fox, NBA and Twitch among its customers.
The investment comes after You.i announced in March that 2018 was a record year for the firm, as it booked more new business than in all other years combined. You.i TV also added two new heads of sales – Lara Lerville for Europe and former Accedo executive Ghali Belghali for the Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific regions.
