Genvid Technologies
New York, US · Founded 2016 · Delaware corporation · 10 known investors
Genvid builds interactive livestreaming middleware for games and publishes large-scale interactive live events (MILEs).
Also known as Genvid · Genvid Holdings Inc. · Genvid Technologies LLC · Genvid Technologies, Inc.
Founders & leadership
Genvid Technologies was founded in 2016 by Christopher Cataldi and Jacob Navok.
Board
Investors · 10
Also in the syndicate · 2
Reported raises · per SEC filings
Form D private placements$162.5M disclosed across 6 of 7 rounds · 2016–2021
▶$109.5MraisedJul 2021 · 16 investors · Other TechnologyRule 506(b)
- Samuel TellerDirector
- Samuel EnglebardtDirector
- Christopher CataldiExecutive Officer, Director
- Jonathan TamDirector
- Jacob NavokExecutive Officer, Director
- Jayson ChiDirector
- Offering amount
- $113M
- Amount sold
- $109.5M
- Minimum investment
- $1
- First sale
- Jun 2021
- Incorporated
- Corporation, Delaware, 2016
- Federal exemptions
- 06b
▶$33MraisedMar 2020 · 33 investors · Other TechnologyRule 506(b)
- Jacob NavokExecutive Officer, Director
- Christopher CataldiExecutive Officer, Director
- Jayson ChiDirector
- Jonathan TamDirector
- Samuel EnglebardtDirector
- Offering amount
- $33M
- Amount sold
- $33M
- Minimum investment
- $1
- First sale
- Nov 2019
- Incorporated
- Corporation, Delaware, 2016
- Federal exemptions
- 06b
▶$10MraisedAug 2018 · 2 investors · OtherRule 506(b)
- Jacob NavokExecutive Officer, Director
- Gregory MilkenDirector
- Jonathan TamDirector
- Jayson ChiDirector
- Christopher CataldiExecutive Officer, Director
- Offering amount
- $10M
- Amount sold
- $10M
- Minimum investment
- $1
- First sale
- Aug 2018
- Incorporated
- Corporation, Delaware, 2016
- Federal exemptions
- 06b
▶$6MraisedApr 2018 · 3 investors · OtherRule 506(b)
- Christopher CataldiExecutive Officer, Director
- Jacob NavokExecutive Officer, Director
- Gregory MilkenDirector
- Jayson ChiDirector
- Tamim Abdul MajidDirector
- Offering amount
- $6M
- Amount sold
- $6M
- Minimum investment
- $1
- First sale
- Mar 2018
- Incorporated
- Corporation, Delaware, 2016
- Federal exemptions
- 06b
▶$2.5MraisedJul 2017 · 3 investors · OtherRule 506(b)
- Tamin Abdul MajidDirector
- Christopher CataldiExecutive Officer, Director
- Gregory MilkenDirector
- Jacob NavokExecutive Officer, Director
- Offering amount
- $2.5M
- Amount sold
- $2.5M
- Minimum investment
- $1
- First sale
- Jun 2017
- Incorporated
- Corporation, Delaware, 2016
- Federal exemptions
- 06b
▶$1.5MraisedAug 2016 · 2 investors · OtherRule 506(b)
- Christopher CataldiExecutive Officer, Director
- Jacob NavokExecutive Officer, Director
- Gregory MilkenDirector
- Offering amount
- $1.5M
- Amount sold
- $1.5M
- Minimum investment
- $1
- Proceeds to insiders
- $35.9K
- First sale
- Aug 2016
- Incorporated
- Corporation, Delaware, 2016
- Federal exemptions
- 06b
Source: SEC EDGAR Form D. Amounts as filed; amended filings shown once at their latest values.
Company profile
researched Aug 2026Genvid Technologies, part of Genvid Holdings Inc., develops interactive livestreaming technology for game developers. Its core product is the Genvid SDK, middleware that game developers integrate into their titles so that livestreams can carry real-time interactivity and data overlays. The SDK is offered for download free of charge and is designed to be platform- and infrastructure-agnostic, running on streaming platforms such as Twitch and YouTube and across infrastructure and engines including AWS, Unreal and Unity. Early deployments centered on esports broadcasts, where viewers or casters could toggle elements such as character hitboxes, player inputs and HUD in real time via a Twitch Extension, with additional functionality such as viewer cheering and win/loss probability displays in development.
Genvid Holdings is the parent of Genvid Technologies, the technology developer, and Genvid Entertainment LLC, a publishing subsidiary established in 2021 to produce and publish "Massive Interactive Live Events" (MILEs) — real-time, large-audience experiences in which the viewing community collectively influences an unfolding storyline. Genvid describes MILEs as merging lean-back entertainment such as television and livestreaming with interactive entertainment such as games. The first such production was "Rival Peak," co-created with Pipeworks Studios and run exclusively on Facebook from December 2020 to March 2021, structured as a reality-competition show with AI contestants whose fates were determined by viewers. Genvid Entertainment is positioned as a publisher rather than an operator of internal game studios, licensing major intellectual property for MILE adaptations.
Founding story
Founded in 2016 by game industry veterans; Variety describes the company as a spinoff of Japanese game company Square Enix. Prior to founding Genvid, CEO and co-founder Jacob Navok led worldwide business development and strategy at Square Enix Holdings and built its cloud gaming division, Shinra Technologies. The company name combines the Latin roots "gen" (birth) and "vid" (viewing).
Business model
Genvid operates two lines: technology licensing of the Genvid SDK to game developers, and publishing of interactive live events through Genvid Entertainment, which licenses third-party intellectual property and works with external development partners rather than in-house studios.
The Genvid SDK is distributed free to developers under a licensing arrangement; the company positions Genvid-enabled livestreams as monetizable through transactions targeted to individual viewers, sponsorships and in-stream purchases, creating revenue opportunities for game developers. Genvid Entertainment publishes MILEs based on licensed IP, with the CEO describing finalized "eight-figure" project deals with large IP owners.
Traction
"Rival Peak," the Facebook-exclusive MILE co-created with Pipeworks Studios, ran from December 2020 to March 2021; its reception was cited by the company as accelerating growth, with dozens of IP holders, platforms and brands seeking MILEs. The SDK was used in esports broadcasts including Evo 2018 by Chilean developer AOne Games for "Omen of Sorrow" and a September 2018 "Blitz Freak" tournament at Red Bull Gaming Sphere Tokyo by Japanese developer ActEvolve. Headcount was about 80 in July 2021, with the CEO projecting 130 by the end of 2021 and 180 by mid-2022.
Latest developments
The July 2021 Series C funded the creation of Genvid Entertainment LLC, which planned to begin producing and publishing MILEs via major IP licenses later that year, with the first project expected to release in 2022. Genvid released the "Project Raven" concept trailer, a zombie-themed proof-of-concept used to pitch partners. Cindy Holland, former Netflix VP of original content, joined as a strategic content adviser; other named advisers include Matthew Ball, formerly head of strategy at Amazon Studios, and Bad Robot Games CEO Anna Sweet.
▸Full profile — market position, technology, go-to-market, geography, history, risks & controversies
Market position
Described in company and press materials as a pioneer of interactive livestreaming technology and of the MILE format, with "Rival Peak" characterized as the first true MILE and Genvid Entertainment presented as the first publisher devoted to bringing MILEs to market.
Cross-platform, engine-agnostic interactive streaming middleware combined with an in-house publishing arm; the MILE format differs from traditional MMO games in that the audience collectively influences and canonizes story events in real time rather than each player controlling an avatar.
Technology
Patented cross-platform interactive streaming engine delivered as easy-to-use middleware (the Genvid SDK), flexible enough to run on any streaming platform and infrastructure, with real-time composition and interactivity capabilities and integrations for Unity and Unreal. A side-letter agreement with Unity, effective 1 September 2018, waived Unity Terms of Service restrictions on cloud and streaming use for developers integrating the Genvid SDK.
Go-to-market
Free SDK distribution to developers combined with licensing terms, demonstrations at esports events and tournaments, partnerships with engine vendors such as Unity, and direct IP licensing deals with rights holders for MILE productions. The company produced a proof-of-concept trailer, "Project Raven," not intended for public release, to demonstrate the MILE format to prospective partners.
Game developers and studios, esports tournament organizers and broadcasters, media, telecom and sports companies, and major IP holders, streaming and social media platforms and global brands seeking interactive live experiences around their properties.
Geography
Headquartered in New York, with a Montreal development hub (Genvid Technologies Canada Inc.) and a Tokyo subsidiary (Genvid Technologies Japan K.K.) established in 2018; the company stated it was exploring European expansion and pursuing customers across the US, EU, Japan and China.
History
Genvid was founded in 2016 and announced a Series A in April 2018. In August 2018 it raised $10 million from Horizons Ventures, bringing total funding to $20 million at that point, and simultaneously announced a Unity streaming waiver for developers and the creation of its Tokyo subsidiary. In December 2020 it launched "Rival Peak" on Facebook with Pipeworks Studios, running through March 2021. In July 2021 it closed a $113 million Series C, bringing cumulative funding to $166 million, formed Genvid Entertainment as a publishing subsidiary and added Cindy Holland as a content adviser.
Risks & controversies
Genvid Entertainment's MILE slate depended on licensing agreements with third-party IP holders that the company declined to name at announcement, and its first publishing project was still unreleased as of the July 2021 announcement, with planned headcount growth from roughly 80 to 180 within a year.
Compiled by commissioned research from 6 cited public sources — announcements, filings, and press listed under research sources below.
Key figures
latest reportedCompany-reported or press-reported figures, each dated to when it was claimed — not independently audited.
Timeline · 9
launches, deals, and filingsGenvid used the Series C in large part to establish Genvid Entertainment LLC, a publishing subsidiary dedicated to producing and publishing Massive Interactive Live Events via licensing of major IP.
Genvid Holdings announced a $113 million Series C co-led by existing investors Valor Equity Partners and Atreides Management, with new investors Third Point Ventures, Cobalt Capital, LightShed Ventures, XN and Lux Capital, existing investors Galaxy Interactive, Horizons Ventures, OCA Ventures and Makers Fund, and strategic partners Huya, NTT DOCOMO Ventures and Samsung Ventures.
$113M source ↗
Former Netflix VP of original content Cindy Holland, an 18-year Netflix veteran, joined Genvid in an advisory role covering content strategy and acquisition; she began working with the company in June 2021.
Genvid released a trailer for Project Raven, a zombie-themed proof-of-concept live game experience that will not be released publicly and is used to demonstrate the MILE format to partners.
Rival Peak, a massive interactive live event co-created with Pipeworks Studios, ran exclusively on Facebook from December 2020 to March 2021 as a reality-competition format with AI contestants whose fates were controlled by viewers.
Genvid announced a Japanese subsidiary in Tokyo, joining its New York headquarters and Montreal development hub (Genvid Technologies Canada Inc.), with European expansion under consideration.
Genvid Technologies announced the close of a $10 million round from Horizons Ventures, the private investment arm of Li Ka-shing; Jonathan Tam of Horizons Ventures joined the board of directors. Funds were earmarked for growth of the technology stack, new media and platform teams, and international and vertical expansion.
$10M source ↗
Genvid announced a side-letter with Unity, available from 1 September 2018, covering Unity developers who integrate the Genvid SDK for cloud and streaming use that would otherwise require separate permission under Unity's terms of service.
Chilean developer AOne Games used Genvid for live tournament broadcasts of its Unreal Engine 4 fighting game Omen of Sorrow at Evo 2018, with interactivity delivered on Twitch via a Twitch Extension allowing real-time toggling of hitboxes, player inputs and HUD.
Dated company events from announcements, filings, and press; legal rows summarize public dockets and regulator releases.
Legal entities · 1
corporate structureIn the news
▸Research sources · 6
primary sources listed
- Genvid Holdings Raises $113 Million in Series C Funding to Create New Publishing Subsidiary for Massive Interactive Live Events (MILEs)prnewswire.com · web
6 public sources were cited for this profile; the first-party ones are listed here.
Frequently asked questions
- What does Genvid Technologies do?
- Genvid builds interactive livestreaming middleware for games and publishes large-scale interactive live events (MILEs).
- Who founded Genvid Technologies?
- Genvid Technologies was founded by Christopher Cataldi, Jacob Navok in 2016.
- Who are Genvid Technologies's investors?
- Genvid Technologies's investors include Horizons Ventures, LightShed Ventures, Makers Fund, NTT DOCOMO Ventures, Third Point Ventures, March Capital Partners, OCA Ventures, Samsung Ventures.
- How much funding has Genvid Technologies raised?
- Genvid Technologies has disclosed $162.5M raised across 6 of its 7 known rounds.
- Where is Genvid Technologies headquartered?
- Genvid Technologies is headquartered in New York, US.