MILAN: BeeTV, an Italian start-up with a personalized TV content engine, secured $8 million in funding this week. The Series B round was led by Innogest, said to be Italy’s largest venture cap firm. BeeTV said it intends to “become the default entry system for television viewers into their world of TV entertainment. Additionally, beeTV plans to invest in sales and expand its penetration into the U.S. and Far East markets.”
BeeTV offers what it calls a “Personal Content Channel,” or PCC, that resides within set-top boxes, mobile devices or PCs. It identifies the individual subscriber, searches his or her content sources and “pushes relevant content to that subscriber.” Providers have the option to integrate all three platforms or choose a combination.
BeeTV was founded in 2006 by Rodolfo Hecht, Yoram Granit and Yaniv Solnik. It launched the beeSTBox product last fall in San Diego, Calif. Its beeWEB and beeMOBILE systems were unveiled last March. The B round represents Innogest’s largest-ever investment round. -- Deborah D. McAdams
