Aylus Networks, the US-based company which enables video services over mobile, has secured a $16 million series D (wow, those are rare) investment round. The financing is being lead by m8 Capital, the mobile-focused venture fund running out of London, to the tune of $10million. Joseph Kim, General Partner of m8 Capital, will join the Aylus board. Joining the round are existing investors Matrix Partners and North Bridge Venture Partners.
Aylus plans to take advantage of the front-facing cameras in smartphones, tablets, laptops and desktops and the fact that video calling is going to be big over the next few years. Especially crucial is device interdependence.
Apple’s Facetime is all very well but it requires iOS devices. People don’t want to be locked down to one device or silo.
Aylus Networks was founded in 2005 by Shamim Navqi. It has a that platform that enables video calling across networks and devices, and also allow rich media to be built into the call. For example, it would allow a video call to place between an iPad and an Android mobile phone, or a video call to be placed from a landline US carrier to an Asian mobile carrier network.