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Vidrovr
AcquiredTechstars '17New York City, US · Founded 2016 · Delaware corporation · 6 employees on LinkedIn · 8 known investors
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CesiumAstro develops AI-enhanced, software-defined communications systems for space, air, and ground domain applications. The company provides advanced communication capabilities to mission-critical users across multiple operational environments.
Also known as Vidrovr Inc.
Founders & leadership
Vidrovr was founded in 2016 by Daniel Morozoff and Joseph Ellis.
Investors · 8
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Reported raises · per SEC filings
Form D private placements$900K disclosed across 1 round · 2017
▶$900KraisedOct 2017 · 13 investors · Other TechnologyRule 506(b)
- Daniel MorozoffExecutive Officer, Director
- Joseph EllisExecutive Officer, Director
- Offering amount
- $1M
- Amount sold
- $900K
- Proceeds to insiders
- $150K
- First sale
- Sep 2017
- 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 Sep 2026Vidrovr is an artificial intelligence company specializing in real-time multimodal signal analysis, with roots in automated video understanding. Its technology generates domain- and customer-specific metadata for video, supports video content management including automatic placement and recommendation of video clips within digital products, and automatically links and sources visual social media content relevant to a given video or online article prior to publication. The company also applies AI to prioritizing tasks and automating repetitive processes.
The company was founded by two PhD students from the Digital Video and Multimedia Lab at Columbia University, Joseph Ellis and Daniel Morozoff, and worked with enterprise customers to build products for news rooms, archivists, and digital product creators. In February 2026, Vidrovr was acquired by CesiumAstro, a space and defense communications systems and satellite manufacturer headquartered near Austin, Texas. Under CesiumAstro, Vidrovr's machine learning capabilities are being integrated across the acquirer's product portfolio to enable adaptive RF optimization, autonomous tasking of payloads and satellites, and AI-enabled edge compute that determines which data is processed on orbit versus routed to ground-based systems.
Founding story
Vidrovr was founded by Joseph Ellis and Daniel Morozoff, two PhD students in the Digital Video and Multimedia Lab at Columbia University. The pair had previously developed an award-winning and patented system for processing news videos and social media called News Rover, and the technologies built for that system were carried directly into Vidrovr's products. Joe Ellis co-founded the company in 2016.
Latest developments
CesiumAstro announced the acquisition of Vidrovr on February 26, 2026. Co-founder Joe Ellis is leading integration of Vidrovr's machine learning capabilities into CesiumAstro's communications payloads and Element family of satellites, with the stated goal of building a real-time "planetary intelligence layer" that interprets, prioritizes, and routes data across space-based assets.
▸Full profile — market position, technology, go-to-market, history
Market position
Vidrovr was one of several AI firms acquired by space companies in early 2026, a period in which trade press noted a pattern of space companies using M&A to add AI capabilities ahead of interest in orbital data centers and on-orbit edge computing.
Technology
Vidrovr's technology centers on real-time multimodal signal analysis and automated processing of video and social media content. Capabilities include automatic generation of domain- and customer-specific video metadata, automated placement and recommendation of video clips, and automated linking and sourcing of relevant visual social media content. The underlying methods derive from News Rover, a patented system for processing news videos and social media. In the space context, the technology is applied to AI-enabled workload orchestration and edge inference, determining which data is processed on orbit and which is routed to ground-based cloud and enterprise systems.
Go-to-market
Enterprise customers with large volumes of video content, including news rooms, archivists, and digital product creators. Through the CesiumAstro acquisition, the technology is directed at national security and commercial space and defense customers.
History
Founded by Columbia University PhD students who commercialized their News Rover research system, Vidrovr built video metadata, content management, and social media linking products for enterprise customers. On February 26, 2026, CesiumAstro announced it had acquired the company to embed AI into its space telecommunications and ISR product lines, with co-founder Joe Ellis leading machine learning integration at the acquirer.
Compiled by commissioned research from 5 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.
Non-dilutive funding · 8 SBIR/STTR awards
Federal grants — no equity taken| Agency | Phase | Year | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| U.S. Air ForceAir Force | Phase II | 2020 | $500K |
| U.S. ArmyArmy | Phase I | 2020 | $111.5K |
| U.S. ArmyArmy | Phase I | 2020 | $100K |
| U.S. Air ForceAir Force | Phase I | 2020 | $50K |
| U.S. Air ForceAir Force | Phase I | 2020 | $49.7K |
| National Science Foundation | Phase II | 2019 | $1.4M |
| U.S. Air ForceAir Force | Phase I | 2019 | $50K |
| National Science Foundation | Phase I | 2017 | $225K |
Source: SBIR.gov award data (U.S. Small Business Administration). SBIR/STTR awards are competitive federal R&D grants and contracts — non-dilutive capital alongside any venture rounds above.
Timeline · 2
launches, deals, and filingsCesiumAstro Inc., a provider of space and defense communications systems and satellites, announced the acquisition of Vidrovr, an AI company specializing in real-time multimodal signal analysis. The deal is intended to embed AI into space telecommunications and ISR infrastructure, supporting RF optimization, autonomous payload and satellite operations, and reconfigurable AI-enabled edge compute. Deal value was not disclosed.
Following the acquisition, Vidrovr co-founder Joe Ellis is leading the integration of machine learning capabilities across CesiumAstro's product portfolio, focused on AI-native space systems.
Dated company events from announcements, filings, and press; legal rows summarize public dockets and regulator releases.
Legal entities · 1
corporate structure▸Research sources · 5
primary sources listed
- Vidrovrvidrovr.com · web
5 public sources were cited for this profile; the first-party ones are listed here.
Frequently asked questions
- What does Vidrovr do?
- Vidrovr is an AI company for real-time multimodal signal and video analysis, acquired by CesiumAstro in February 2026.
- Who founded Vidrovr?
- Vidrovr was founded by Daniel Morozoff, Joseph Ellis in 2016.
- Who are Vidrovr's investors?
- Vidrovr's investors include Capital Innovators, Dorm Room, Prefix Capital, R/GA Ventures, Samsung Next, Social Starts, Techstars, Verizon Ventures.
- How much funding has Vidrovr raised?
- Vidrovr has disclosed $900K raised across 1 round.
- Where is Vidrovr headquartered?
- Vidrovr is headquartered in New York City, US.