WeVideo Secures $19.2 Million, Integrates with Google Drive
[Updated at 1:30 p.m. to include the Google Drive announcement.]
Collaborative, cloud-based video editing platform WeVideo has been making a lot of noise in recent months, and today sent the loudest signal yet about its long-term plans with the announcement that it has secured a Series A funding round of $19.2 million, led by Crest Capital Ventures. At last week's National Association of Broadcasters show in Las Vegas, co-founder and CEO Jostein Svendsen said today's announcement is the first of many the company will be making in coming weeks, and another one followed today soon after the funding announcement: WeVideo tools are now available for Google Drive users.
Svendsen says that WeVideo, which recently announced YouTube integration and other partnerships, will use the funding to "realize an ambitious roadmap and partnership program to establish the world's leading platfom for online video editing and creation."
In a few short months, WeVideo has already become a leader in the burgeoning browser-based online video editor market. Once a user has uploaded a source file to the cloud, WeVideo downloads a low-res version to the desktop for editing. It includes more than 30 effects and 50 transitions, and much of the functionality found in Adobe Premiere, Apple Final Cut Pro X, and other desktop editors, with additional capability for collaborative editing; i.e., multiple users editing the same file.
In a review soon after the commercial launch last autumn, Jan Ozer noted the limitations of browser-based editing but concluded that "WeVideo has a solid interface and is the closest I've seen to a desktop video editor." It should be noted that Ozer didn't test the collaborative editing functionality.
WeVideo's subscription packages start with a free version that offers 1GB of workspace and limited editing and output, with premium levels up to $79.99 a month for 100GB of storage, 720p output, and priority processing, among other features.
The WeVideo app for Google Drive, available now from the Chrome Web Store, is designed to give users a convenient place to store their WeVideo files alongside other files they may be storing on Google Drive, in addition to offering the same collaborative editing tools within the Google cloud environment.
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