Minute Media Acquires Indian AI Startup for Automated Sports Highlights
▼ Summary
– Minute Media, backed by BlackRock and Goldman Sachs, has acquired Indian AI startup VideoVerse, which specializes in creating sports highlights and content from footage.
– VideoVerse, founded in 2016 and valued around $200–250 million in 2023, has clients including the Indian Premier League, FIFA+, and various broadcasters.
– The startup transitioned from building AI tools for content moderation and e-commerce to focusing on video editing and detection for sports broadcasters.
– VideoVerse operates as a SaaS platform with $65 million in revenue and uses AI to automatically generate and translate content for global distribution.
– Minute Media aims to leverage VideoVerse’s technology to enhance content creation, distribution, and monetization across its sports properties and target U.S. leagues.
Minute Media, a media company backed by BlackRock and Goldman Sachs, has announced its acquisition of VideoVerse, an Indian AI startup specializing in automated sports highlights generation. This strategic move aims to enhance content creation and distribution across Minute Media’s portfolio, which includes well-known brands like Sports Illustrated, The Players’ Tribune, and 90 Minutes. VideoVerse’s technology allows broadcasters to automatically extract key moments and produce tailored content from sports footage, serving major clients such as the Indian Premier League, FIFA+, and broadcasters like Nippon TV.
Founded in 2016 by Vinayak Shrivastav and based in Mumbai, VideoVerse has secured $105 million in funding from investors including Bluestone Equity Partners, A91 Partners, and Moneta Ventures. Although the exact valuation of the deal remains undisclosed, sources indicate VideoVerse was valued between $200 million and $250 million in its most recent funding round. Minute Media’s CEO, Asaf Peled, described this as the company’s largest acquisition to date in both financial and operational scale.
VideoVerse initially developed AI tools for diverse applications, such as detecting smoking and drinking scenes for India’s censor board and object recognition for e-commerce platforms. However, the company soon pivoted to focus exclusively on sports broadcasting, inspired by early demand from platforms like Hotstar (now part of Jio) for automated highlight generation in cricket. Over time, VideoVerse streamlined its offerings into a SaaS model, charging clients based on hours of footage processed. The startup has achieved $65 million in annual revenue with an impressive EBITDA margin of 35–40%.
The platform now incorporates advanced AI capabilities, including rule-based content automation and AI-powered translation, allowing broadcasters to create customized packages, such as all three-pointers by a specific basketball player, and distribute them instantly across social channels. While leveraging third-party AI models for certain tasks, VideoVerse relies on its proprietary core technology to identify pivotal moments during games.
For Minute Media, this acquisition represents a significant opportunity to integrate AI-driven content creation with its existing distribution and monetization infrastructure. The company reaches over 200 million monthly users and operates a B2B platform used by nearly 500 publishers. Peled emphasized that combining VideoVerse’s AI suite with Minute Media’s network will enable more efficient content production and enhanced advertising revenue.
Looking ahead, Minute Media plans to target U.S.-based sports leagues, aiming to convince them to adopt automated highlight solutions. Industry trends indicate growing fan demand for mobile-friendly, personalized content beyond traditional coverage, a gap the company believes AI can effectively fill. While not currently seeking funding, Minute Media may explore additional capital raises in the future to support further acquisitions.
(Source: TechCrunch)