Zefr, a startup that helps brands and media companies track their videos on YouTube, has raised $30 million.
YouTube Tools Startup Zefr Raises $30 Million
Institutional Venture Partners funds the video-tracker.
Peter Kafka covered media and technology, and their intersection, at Vox. Many of his stories can be found in his Kafka on Media newsletter, and he also hosts the Recode Media podcast.
The funding round, led by Institutional Venture Partners, brings Zefr’s total financing to $60 million. Some of that was raised during the company’s earlier incarnation, when it started Movieclips, a video network filled with licensed film excerpts.
Over the last few years, though, Zefr has pivoted into a company that helps content owners find their stuff on the world’s biggest video site and figure out how to make money from it.
Zefr started out by focusing on big media companies, and last year added a new business that works with brands. The idea is that it can help a company like Adidas figure out how its official videos are performing on YouTube — but just as importantly, it can tell Adidas how other people’s videos that use the company’s brands and trademarks are performing.
The funding comes as many companies and content-makers who had planned on making a living on YouTube are reconsidering, and are trying to find revenue streams outside of the site. But Zefr, which makes money via software licenses, says it assumes the bulk of its revenue will still come from companies that spend most of their time on YouTube.
This article originally appeared on Recode.net.
