Minute Media buys VideoVerse; Audacity, Bluestone exit

BENGALURU: Global sports technology company Minute Media has acquired AI-powered media-tech startup VideoVerse, enabling early backers Audacity Venture Capital and Bluestone Equity Partners to record significant exits.Audacity Venture Capital said it secured a $50 million exit from VideoVerse, calling it the fund’s first exit and among the top five technology acquisitions in the country. The sector-focused firm had invested at a $5 million valuation. “This is not just a fund milestone, it’s a validation of our thesis that media-tech offers outsized opportunities for investors who understand the space deeply,” said Kabir Kochhar, founding partner of Audacity Venture Capital.Bluestone, which invested in VideoVerse in December 2023 through its $300 million debut fund, also announced an early exit while retaining a strategic stake in Minute Media. “It’s one of the largest outcomes in the history of sports technology, and to ever come out of the Indian tech ecosystem,” said Bobby Sharma, founder and managing partner, Bluestone Equity Partners. The firm had earlier joined VideoVerse’s board to accelerate its global expansion.

Founded in 2016 as Toch.ai by Vinayak Shrivastav, VideoVerse rebranded as it scaled its flagship AI SaaS platform Magnifi. The tool uses computer vision and machine learning to detect, package and distribute key moments from live and archived video at scale. It counts sports leagues such as the IPL, Bundesliga, Australian Open and Wimbledon among its users.VideoVerse had previously raised capital from A91 Partners, Alpha Wave and Flipkart cofounder Binny Bansal.

Shrivastav said the Minute Media deal would allow the company to extend Magnifi’s reach across new markets.Minute Media, which publishes Sports Illustrated, The Players’ Tribune, and 90min, said VideoVerse’s technology will strengthen its content creation and monetisation stack. The New York-headquartered company reaches more than 200 million users monthly across 14 markets in 10 languages.