US-based online commerce company Amazon has reinvested in the consortium backing local online video production company Animoto’s $25m series C round.
Private equity firm Spectrum Equity Investors led the C round, with participation from venture capital (VC) firm Madrona Venture Group.
Madrona had previously led Animoto’s $4.4m B round in May 2008, with participation from Amazon, as well as VC fund SoftTech VC and angel investor Bruce Livingstone, the founder of Canada-based online picture-focused micropayment company iStockPhoto. A series A round had already raised $600,000 from a collection of angel investors in 2007.
Animoto’s service allows users to create videos using their own photos, music and video clips. The company claims its Cinematic Artificial Intelligence technology means the site thinks like a director and editor, and uses post-production and editing techniques accordingly.