Veritone secures $50m funding for AI research
Cloud-based Artificial Intelligence (AI) media technology firm Veritone has signed a $50m funding agreement with Acacia Research Corporation, as it seeks to expand its global footprint in AI analytics. Veritone's platform allows every second frame of audio and visual content to be searched for everything from voice recognition to images, as well as constantly evolving "additional capabilities." It offers "unprecedented insight" into audio and video data, and presents "previously impossible or impractical to extract" actionable intelligence.

NEWPORT BEACH, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Veritone, Inc., the leading cloud-based Artificial Intelligence (“AI”) media technology company pioneering the world’s first Cognitive Media Platform™ (CMP), announced today that it has signed a funding agreement with leading patent investment group, Acacia Research Corporation (NASDAQ: ACTG), for up to $50 million in working capital. The funding is structured as an initial $20 million convertible investment, with a contingent additional investment of $30 million based on Veritone’s achievement of set milestones, for a total investment consideration of $50 million.

Veritone will use the capital proceeds to expand its global footprint as the leading AI analytics, search and predictive solution for media firms, corporate enterprise, political campaigns and government. Veritone’s first-of-its-kind AI platform renders every second and frame of audio and video content searchable for objects, faces, license plates, logos, phrases, sentiment, voice identification, translation plus additional capabilities that are constantly evolving.

Ninety percent of all of the world’s data has been created in the past two years (SINTEF) with the explosion of mobile and digital capabilities, 80 percent of which is unstructured and unsearchable (Gartner). Veritone’s advanced platform enables unprecedented insight into the fastest growing segment of the world’s data (audio and video) to provide global decision makers with actionable intelligence that was previously impossible or impractical to extract. With the AI market expected to exceed $70 billion by 2020 (BAML) and growing at an explosive rate of 54 percent over the next five years (Marketsandmarkets.com), Veritone is uniquely positioned to reap the benefits from the rapid adoption of AI-powered solutions.

As the industry leader in patent licensing, Acacia Research Corporation has evaluated more technologies than nearly anyone in the space. “Veritone is led by an impressive and proven management team and is developing one of the most exciting and promising technology platforms that our team has ever seen,” stated Louis Graziadio, Executive Chairman of Acacia. Veritone’s groundbreaking platform is redefining the future of AI across industries by enabling a myriad of intelligent cognitive engines that collaborate to analyze audio and video media. “It is estimated that 50 percent of business solutions will incorporate predictive analytics computing functionality by 2020, and we are looking forward to developing strategies with Veritone to expand their global reach,” continued Graziadio, who has joined the Veritone Board as part of the partnership.

“This funding from our partner, Acacia Research Corporation, validates Veritone’s leadership position in the explosive growth of AI, machine learning and analytics technologies worldwide. It will enable us to expand and enhance our Cognitive Media Platform™ to meet the insatiable intelligence demand of our clients. We are driving AI to the next logical level, creating a constantly evolving and super intelligent platform that can be used globally to solve both new and systemic problems,” said Veritone Executive Chairman and CEO Chad Steelberg. “Our mission to transform the world’s media and information into actionable intelligence is a simple notion with profound implications.”

Recently recognized with the prestigious 2016 Red Herring Top 100 North America Award and the 2016 SIIA Business Technology CODiE Award. Veritone has scaled dramatically over the past two years, having recently surpassed three million hours of audio and video processed through its CMP™. Veritone’s proprietary technology is protected by nearly 90 issued and pending patents and operates seamlessly across leading cloud infrastructures. The company currently provides software-as-a-service (SaaS) solutions across entities that leverage audio and video media in advertising, sports, retail, politics, legal, law enforcement, corporate security and government with a growing list of industries making inquiries as to how they can leverage Veritone’s CMP™ to optimize their businesses. Current clients and partners range from small firms to Fortune 100 companies including Microsoft, Uber, ESPN Radio, Nuance, Westwood One, LegalZoom, Spark Agency, Taco Bell, the Republican National Committee and Dollar Shave Club.

“Radio reaches more consumers than any other media, and at Westwood One, we’re committed to delivering the most engaging and relevant sports, news/talk, music and entertainment content on any device and across platforms,” stated Charles Steinhauer, Westwood One Chief Operating Officer. “Veritone’s revolutionary Cognitive Media Platform™ provides real-time indexing and media analytics that deliver a superlative experience for both our consumers and advertisers.”

Chad Steelberg, and his brother Ryan Steelberg, co-founder and President of Veritone, are visionary serial entrepreneurs who have built several highly successful internet software companies including AdForce, the world’s largest publicly traded centralized independent ad-serving solution and recipient of the Smithsonian Award for Best Technology, as well as dMarc Broadcasting, the largest centralized radio advertising network, acquired by Google in 2006.

“Our deep media roots set us apart from others in the AI community,” said Ryan Steelberg. “Our extensive history and successful track record developing scalable and impactful advertising platforms, spanning offline and online, makes us a powerful force. It was a natural evolution for us to develop an analytics platform for media that integrates the vast capabilities of AI. In the audio and video space alone, our platform connects advertisers to the vast ecosystem of broadcast and digital influencers creating effective and accountable branded content and integrated campaigns. Veritone Media clients have experienced the impact of this technology, and we have only just begun to scratch the surface as this space is growing exponentially.”

About Veritone, Inc.

Headquartered in Newport Beach, California, Veritone, Inc. is the leading cloud-based Artificial Intelligence media technology company pioneering the world’s first Cognitive Media Platform™ (CMP), a cloud-based ecosystem that enables media, enterprise, politics, corporate security and government to extract value from the intelligence embedded in the world’s public and private media audio and video content, which comprises the vast majority of all global data produced each year. Founded in 2014, Veritone has already won several of the industry’s most prestigious awards including the 2016 Red Herring Top 100 North America Award and the 2016 SIIA Business Technology CODiE Award for Best Native Advertising Platform or Service. Veritone was founded by serial entrepreneurs and brothers, Chad and Ryan Steelberg. The duo have a successful track record in identifying new market opportunities, creating disruptive technology-based companies and leading them to successful exits for their stakeholders. To learn more about how Veritone seeds the cloud visit www.veritone.com.

About Acacia Research Corporation

Founded in 1993, Acacia Research Corporation (NASDAQ: ACTG) is the industry leader in patent licensing. An intermediary in the patent marketplace, Acacia partners with inventors and patent owners to unlock the financial value in their patented inventions. Acacia bridges the gap between invention and application, facilitating efficiency and delivering monetary rewards to the patent owner. For more information, visit: http://acaciaresearch.com.