Manchester-based Ittybit, a developer tools company, has raised £1.5 million in an oversubscribed funding round led by Mercuri, which invested in Made With Intent and Sure Valley Ventures. It also saw participation from Oxford Capital, angel investors, and Baltic Ventures. Notably, Ittybit was a recent graduate of Baltic Ventures’ first accelerator cohort.
Funds utilisation
This investment will enable Ittybit to further its mission of making world-class AI-led media pipelines accessible to developers worldwide. It will also enable the company to accelerate its vision of empowering developers with unparalleled media management tools and expand its team within engineering and enterprise sales.
Demand for high-quality media management solutions
Currently, there is a demand for high-quality media management solutions is rising rapidly. In 2022, video accounted for an estimated 82% of consumer internet traffic. HD and UHD video content volume has quadrupled since 2017, and AI-generated content is set to further drive the creation of personalised media content.
However, media files are often large, hard to search for and come with lots of challenging edge cases. So, developers have had to reach for complicated custom servers or pay for expensive specialised services. This is where Ittybit’s technology comes into the picture as it delivers impressive results for early customers.
What does the company do?
Founded by Paul Williams, a repeat founder with 20 years of experience in video production with notable companies such as EA Sports, Adidas, and Nike, Ittybit is a developer tools company dedicated to simplifying media file management for developers. The company provides advanced APIs and tools for uploading, storing, and delivering large video, image, and audio files, along with AI-driven solutions for compression, tagging, and transcription.
Ittybit’s mission is to make world-class media pipelines accessible to all developers, fostering innovation and creativity in the digital media space. One of its standout features is its innovative AI-based compression tool, which is similar to those used by industry giants like Netflix and Meta. This technology ensures that files are compressed efficiently, resulting in faster downloads and reduced storage costs without compromising visual quality.
Strength:Lab, an online PE lessons provider, with over 80,000 children, reported an 80% reduction in bandwidth costs. Another client, a large podcast, transcribed over 1,000 episodes from their back catalogue, enhancing search functionality and building a robust content recommendation engine.
Early adopters have used Ittybit to manage over 100,000 images and 5,000 hours of user-generated video, demonstrating the platform’s scalability and reliability.
Paul Williams, Founder of Ittybit said: “We knew we could raise capital, but it was important to bring investors onboard who can also provide commercial and operational expertise. Mercuri’s extensive media industry connections and investments in leading AI companies, plus Sure Valley Ventures’ specialist focus on AI aligns perfectly with our vision for the company. We have an ambitious mission and their support will help us get there much faster.”
James Pringle, Principal at Mercuri added: “Mercuri is thrilled to invest in Ittybit, recognising that the future of media lies in instant delivery. As specialists in media and creative industries, we see Ittybit as a groundbreaking solution that excels in speed, quality, and cost-efficiency. While it’s still early, we are enthusiastic about Ittybit’s potential to significantly impact and grow within the dynamic media landscape.”
Brian Kinane, Founding Partner, Sure Valley Ventures added: “Ittybit’s proprietary Machine Learning solution is transforming the costs of hosting media for both SMEs and Enterprises globally. We are delighted to back a Manchester-based, cutting-edge AI company who are well-positioned to execute their mission to democratise media hosting, at a time when the innovation of multimodal large language models is enabling content creation at an unprecedented scale. This deal is a great example of why we established a northern office in Manchester – to find high-growth AI companies with significant global potential.”
What do we think about Ittybit?
Ittybit seems to play a major role in the context of the rapidly growing demand for efficient media file management solutions. Given that its technology is similar to that used by industry giants like Netflix and Meta, it appears to have potential effectiveness and scalability in the industry.
