Polar Mobile, a platform provider for digital media distribution, has announced a $6 million funding round led by Georgian Partners, and being used to expand globally and launch MediaEverywhere, a new product line which, says CEO Kunal Gupta (pictured), will “transform the media industry”. The new funding joins more than $3 million invested to date from private investors. MediaEverywhere will launch later in 2012 and be first rolled out to existing Polar customers.
“Polar transformed how media companies deliver content to smartphones and tablets by providing a turnkey, cloud-based software platform for the rapid deployment of feature-rich native applications”, said Kunal Gupta, Chief Executive Officer, Polar Mobile. “We are thrilled to have the backing of Georgian and now it is helping to accelerate the launch of our next-generation software platform, MediaEverywhere.”
MediaEverywhere is an HTML5-based solution to distribute media content in a multi-device environment, including smartphones, tablets and desktops. It will include support for both app-centric and browser-based media consumption and enable Polar’s media customers to create, design and manage custom user experiences in-house. MediaEverywhere, added Gupta, will decrease customers’ development time and increase their opportunity to monetize their content.
“The complexity of new platforms and ever-changing business models introduces new opportunities that media companies can benefit from with Polar’s help,” said Justin LaFayette, Managing Director, Georgian Partners. “We are excited about Polar’s ability to scale globally and their vision for leveraging applied analytics to enhance engagement and drive monetization of media.”
MediaEverywhere will use audience intelligence to increase engagement and monetization opportunities for customers. “Digital distribution and monetization is a top priority for media companies around the world and working with Polar has enabled us to accelerate and scale our digital strategy in a rapidly changing world,” says Albert Read, Deputy Managing Director, Condé Nast. “The Polar team have been great to work with and we look forward to continuing our relationship.”
