• by Gavin O'Malley  @mp_gavin, February 11, 2014

From bandwidth restrictions to gadget shortcomings, the popularity of digital video has historically been limited by technology alone. It’s no surprise, then, that video infrastructure companies continue to attract the attention of investors, along with media and marketing leaders.       
 
Take open-source video platform Kaltura, which just secured an additional $47 million in funding led by new investors SAP Ventures, Nokia Growth Partners, Commonfund Capital, and Brazil-based Gera Ventures.
 
The funding comes just in time for an aggressive digital expansion, according to Ron Yekutiel, Kaltura chairman and CEO. The money makes possible an “increased focus on emerging markets,” Yekutiel said on Tuesday -- and those in the Asia-Pacific and Latin America regions in particular.   
 
Having already established its video-on-demand chops, Kaltura also plans to expand into live capturing, streaming and synchronous communication -- including Webcasting, and lecture-capture -- Yekutiel said. “This is in line with the increased convergence between live and VOD use cases and workflows,” he explained.
 
Already established in the domestic media market, Kaltura’s platform is currently used by HBO, ABC, Warner Brothers, Paramount, DirecTV, Turner and Wikipedia.
 
The list of brands that make use Kaltura’s services include Bank of America, Intel, SAP, Century 21, Ericsson, Danone, Discount Tire, Accenture, AstraZeneca, Nestle, Philips and IKEA.
 
According to the latest estimates from eMarketer, online video advertising is on track to surpass $9 billion by 2017. While the growth of video ad budgets appears to have plateaued, the format itself remains highly valued for its ability to generate higher brand awareness, message association and purchase intent.