British-born startup MUSO, which monitors activity on piracy platforms, has raised £2.5m ($3.2m) in Series A funding from Harwell Capital.
The company says the investment will be used to expand its sales and marketing capabilities, as well as bolster its technology and operations infrastructure and support.
MUSO tracked more than 191 billion global visits to websites hosting unlicensed content in 2016 alone.
Its dataset covers more than 200 countries and monitors all major forms of piracy activity, including streaming, web -downloads, public and private torrents and stream rippers.
While most anti-piracy technology providers focus on content protection and take-downs, MUSO says that its approach differs by offering ‘more innovative solutions to the problem’.
Its data-driven products enable rights-holders to not only protect content, but also investigate the behavior of consumers of illegal content – even connecting with them and redirecting them to official channels.
Harwell Capital, a Jersey-based Venture Capital investment firm, looks for businesses with proprietary technologies capable of solving real-world problems.
“We have an exciting pipeline of business and Harwell’s investment and strategic advice will enable us to more quickly take advantage of the market opportunity.”
Andy Chatterley, Muso (pictured)
Daniel O’Brien, Managing Director of Harwell Capital, said: “We’ve been really excited about MUSO’s proposition since we first met the team. Not only has its innovative, automated, data-led approach solved the online piracy problem, but it’s also turned the way piracy is viewed on its head.
“Through data, insights and monetisation, MUSO has built a world-class solution to piracy that has the potential to completely transform the way illegal content is dealt with. We look forward to joining the journey with MUSO.”
MUSO was co-founded in 2009 by Grammy nominated producer Andy Chatterley, alongside technology entrepreneur Christopher Elkins and enterprise technology expert James Mason.
Andy Chatterley, co-founder and CEO of MUSO, said: “Harwell Capital is the perfect investor for us. The team has deep experience in backing revenue generating, scalable technology companies in a high-growth stage and so completely understands MUSO’s aims and ambitions.
“We have an exciting pipeline of business and Harwell’s investment and strategic advice will enable us to more quickly take advantage of the market opportunity.”Music Business Worldwide
