Virtual viewing parties that let people watch video together remotely have become a popular way to stay connected with friends and family amid the coronavirus pandemic. Earlier today, Hulu announced the addition of a new “Watch Party” feature for its site to make a virtual viewing experience a built-in feature of its service. Now, media software maker Plex is also today launching its own “Watch Together” feature which works both with its own collection of on-demand content and users’ personal media.

The feature is launching in beta as it’s still considered experimental, but will allow Plex users to invite friends on Plex to watch a TV show or movie together. If a user is not on Plex, you can invite them to join via the link, as well.

Plex says the co-viewing experience is supported on both its free selection of on-demand movies and TV shows as well as on content from a user’s personal library without limitations. However, unlike Hulu’s new feature, Watch Together doesn’t currently include a built-in chat function. Instead, Plex simply handles the playback of the content and keeping it in sync between the different parties.

The company hasn’t put a specific cap on the number of users who can join a Watch Together session.

The company’s FAQ explains the number of people who can join will depend on your own server hardware where the Plex Media Server software runs, in addition to your network connection, disk speed, and the content being shared. If you add too many people to the session, you’ll experience playback issues, Plex warns.

Once a session begins, users can join from multiple devices or rejoin if they accidentally leave early, but no new people can be added. Unlike Hulu’s new co-watching feature, anyone who pauses the stream will pause the playback for all users, not just themselves.

At launch, Plex’s Watch Together feature works on Apple and Android platforms, including Apple TV and iOS/iPadOS, as well as on Android mobile and Android TV. Support for Roku will come soon after with other platforms to follow.

During testing, it will also be available for free to all users instead of only those who pay for a Plex Pass subscription. That will allow the company to gain more feedback about bugs and feature requests from a wider user base. But it will a paid offering in the future when the initial preview period wraps.

Co-watching video has become a popular activity during coronavirus lockdowns and quarantines.

One extension Netflix Party has seen a spike in usage as U.S. consumers were forced to shelter-in-place due to the coronavirus outbreak. HBO also recently partnered with browser extension Scener to offer a “virtual theater” experience that supports up to 20 people. Social apps like Instagram and HouseParty have rolled out co-watching capabilities, too.

Plex says the new Watch Together feature is live today in beta.

Facebook’s internal R&D group, NPE Team, is rolling out yet another new app today called Collab after having just launched a new group audio calling app, CatchUp, on Tuesday. With Collab, the focus has now returned to video, and specifically, the concept of watching, mixing, and matching original videos together, beginning with music.

In Collab, creators can either record their own musical arrangement or swipe to discover arrangements to build a composition, or a “collab.” While there are some elements of TikTok’s duets in this idea, the difference is that all videos posted to Collab can be mixed and matched with others. TikTok, meanwhile, allows creators to control who can duet with them.

In addition, Collab is only designed for making original music videos for the time being, which sets it apart from other video apps — including TikTok, Dubsmash, Triller, and more which have users creating content to the music from popular songs available via an in-app catalog.

Though focused on music, you don’t necessarily have to be a gifted musician to publish to Collab. You could participate by doing something simple — like banging on a child’s xylophone or beating a tambourine. Musicians could then use that video alongside their own content to build their “collab.”

The collabs can only be up to 15 seconds in length, as this is not intended to be a professional music-making platform, but rather one that’s used for fun and experimentation.

Once users have created a collab, they can publish it for others to watch or to further remix. However, the underlying music itself cannot be remixed — only the videos. The resulting collab can also be published to other social media platforms, including Instagram, Facebook Stories, and more.

There are a number of existing apps that allow users to collaborate with others on music, including by mixing sounds, making recordings, and arranging compositions. But these tend to be digital audio workstation (DAW) software programs, or at least those aimed at semi-professional to professional musicians. Spotify’s Soundtrap is one example. BandLab, Endless, Bandpass, Kompoz, are a few others. Vampr, meanwhile, helps musicians discover new collaborators. Collab, meanwhile, is more open to mainstream users — including those who play music for fun or are just fans of music in general.

Facebook says it’s been working on Collab for a few months, but hurried the launch in light of so many people being sheltered in place around the world due to the coronavirus pandemic.

“Digital spaces can connect us when we can’t be together in person, and Collab is a new way to create together,” a Facebook company spokesperson said about the launch.

However, the app itself is not ready to rapidly scale, which is why it’s being released today as an invite-only beta.

The company notes there’s still work that needs to be done to polish the app’s experience, but the team will be iterating on the product and responding to user feedback going forward. More people will be able to join Collab as invites roll out in batches. Access to the waitlist is here.

Collab is the latest in a series of releases from Facebook’s R&D group, NPE Team, which so far has launched a small handful of apps, including meme creator Whale, conversational app Bump, music app Aux, video app Hobbi, couples app Tuned, Apple Watch app Kit, and just yesterday, group calling app CatchUp. (Bump has since shut down.)

Prior to CatchUp, apps were launched with little fanfare but now Facebook is publically announcing their debuts and answering questions. That’s a change in strategy for the team, and one that could point Facebook’s desire to capitalize on users’ hunger for new social and entertainment experiences while stuck at home due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

Collab is available as an invite-only beta on iOS in the U.S. and Canada.

Facebook’s internal R&D group, NPE Team, is rolling out yet another new app today called Collab after having just launched a new group audio calling app, CatchUp, on Tuesday. With Collab, the focus has now returned to video, and specifically, the concept of watching, mixing, and matching original videos together, beginning with music.

In Collab, creators can either record their own musical arrangement or swipe to discover arrangements to build a composition, or a “collab.” While there are some elements of TikTok’s duets in this idea, the difference is that all videos posted to Collab can be mixed and matched with others. TikTok, meanwhile, allows creators to control who can duet with them.

In addition, Collab is only designed for making original music videos for the time being, which sets it apart from other video apps — including TikTok, Dubsmash, Triller, and more which have users creating content to the music from popular songs available via an in-app catalog.

Though focused on music, you don’t necessarily have to be a gifted musician to publish to Collab. You could participate by doing something simple — like banging on a child’s xylophone or beating a tambourine. Musicians could then use that video alongside their own content to build their “collab.”

The collabs can only be up to 15 seconds in length, as this is not intended to be a professional music-making platform, but rather one that’s used for fun and experimentation.

Once users have created a collab, they can publish it for others to watch or to further remix. However, the underlying music itself cannot be remixed — only the videos. The resulting collab can also be published to other social media platforms, including Instagram, Facebook Stories, and more.

There are a number of existing apps that allow users to collaborate with others on music, including by mixing sounds, making recordings, and arranging compositions. But these tend to be digital audio workstation (DAW) software programs, or at least those aimed at semi-professional to professional musicians. Spotify’s Soundtrap is one example. BandLab, Endless, Bandpass, Kompoz, are a few others. Vampr, meanwhile, helps musicians discover new collaborators. Collab, meanwhile, is more open to mainstream users — including those who play music for fun or are just fans of music in general.

Facebook says it’s been working on Collab for a few months, but hurried the launch in light of so many people being sheltered in place around the world due to the coronavirus pandemic.

“Digital spaces can connect us when we can’t be together in person, and Collab is a new way to create together,” a Facebook company spokesperson said about the launch.

However, the app itself is not ready to rapidly scale, which is why it’s being released today as an invite-only beta.

The company notes there’s still work that needs to be done to polish the app’s experience, but the team will be iterating on the product and responding to user feedback going forward. More people will be able to join Collab as invites roll out in batches. Access to the waitlist is here.

Collab is the latest in a series of releases from Facebook’s R&D group, NPE Team, which so far has launched a small handful of apps, including meme creator Whale, conversational app Bump, music app Aux, video app Hobbi, couples app Tuned, Apple Watch app Kit, and just yesterday, group calling app CatchUp. (Bump has since shut down.)

Prior to CatchUp, apps were launched with little fanfare but now Facebook is publically announcing their debuts and answering questions. That’s a change in strategy for the team, and one that could point Facebook’s desire to capitalize on users’ hunger for new social and entertainment experiences while stuck at home due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

Collab is available as an invite-only beta on iOS in the U.S. and Canada.

YouTube Kids, the video platform’s version of its service that lets families set age categories, viewing timers and other controls, is now available on Apple TV.

Country availability is listed here, with more to be added later. YouTube says that safety controls still need to be set through the mobile version of the app.

YouTube Kids is meant to give children a safer alternative to YouTube, where even Restricted Mode can let through violent content and other things parents and caretakers don’t want kids to see. This includes videos that look like they are made for kids, often depicting popular cartoon characters, but are filled with inappropriate content. YouTube started paying more attention to them after a 2017 scandal dubbed “Elsagate,” but they still routinely make appearances in the platform’s automatically generated recommendations.

In general, the main YouTube app is a risky place for kids, even though it is filled with popular kids channels and educational content. Last year, YouTube disabled comments on videos in an effort to stop predatory behavior and also reached a $170 million with the Federal Trade Commission over violations of the Children’s Online Privacy Act (COPPA), putting into place new rules for kids’ video, but creators said the rules were confusing and resulted in lost revenue.

In an effort to make its brand more family friendly, YouTube has been expanding how YouTube Kids is available. For example, before the FTC settlement was officially announced, it launched a website for YouTube Kids.

Videos on YouTube Kids is still mostly filtered through algorithms, however, which means inappropriate content can still appear on the app. But while it is not perfect, YouTube Kids still offers more features that can help caretakers prevent harmful content from being viewed by children, including one that lets them whitelist specific videos or channels.

The Gillmor Gang — Frank Radice, Michael Markman, Keith Teare, Denis Pombriant, Brent Leary, and Steve Gillmor . Recorded live Saturday, May 9, 2020. For more, subscribe to the Gillmor Gang Newsletter.

Produced and directed by Tina Chase Gillmor @tinagillmor

@fradice, @mickeleh, @denispombriant, @kteare, @brentleary, @stevegillmor, @gillmorgang

Liner Notes

Live chat stream

The Gillmor Gang on Facebook

Twilio’s video player will be used as the backbone for the new video consultation service that Zocdoc is launching for its customers today, the two companies said in a statement.

As the COVID-19 epidemic reshapes healthcare in the U.S. more service providers are going remote with the delivery of healthcare consultations and encouraging entire generations of consumers to make the switch to virtual care.

Like other video services (notably Zoom), usage of Twilio’s video services has surged. The company said it has seen an over 850 percent increase in peak concurrent participants on its video product and a more than 500 percent increase in daily video minutes.

Healthcare customers have boosted their bandwidth on the platform by 90 percent, the company said.

“Zocdoc’s new telehealth solution makes it easier for healthcare professionals to utilize video visits in a time where providers and patients need virtual care most,” said Susan Collins, global head of healthcare services at Twilio, in a statement. “Twilio Programmable Video’s software agility and cloud scale enabled Zocdoc to make remote visits available in a matter of weeks. We’re proud to be able to serve our customers and the healthcare providers they serve to help flatten the curve and continue to deliver care to those who need it.”

As part of a pitch to new customers during the pandemic, Twilio is offering three months of free use of its Video product for healthcare, education and nonprofit organizations, so long as they sign up before June 30. 

Tinder will add a video dating feature in the second quarter of this year, parent company Match announced on Tuesday as part of its Q1 2020 earnings report. The company also detailed the coronavirus impact which slowed Tinder user growth in the quarter, as social distancing requirements and government lockdowns went into effect.

Match didn’t go into detail about its plans for video dating, but noted it has been testing the waters with video in its Plenty of Fish app. In the quarter, it accelerated the rollout of a one-to-many live streaming feature that has so far exceeded its expectations, the company said,

“As daters demonstrated strong willingness to video-date, our product and engineering teams around the world mobilized quickly to deploy one-to-one video chat capabilities on many of our platforms,” wrote Match Group CEO Shar Dubey, in the letter to shareholders.

Match-owned Hinge also introduced a video call feature called Date from Home this month.

But the company’s flagship dating service Tinder had not yet embraced video — despite that fact that its direct competitor Bumble has offered video for a year, and Facebook is launching virtual dating via Messenger for its Facebook Dating users.

Match explained the reason for its hesitance on video during its earnings calls with investors, saying that video features had been tried over the years, but never saw much adoption. The company believes that will change now, as “users are being forced to use it.” Users will see the benefits and likely continue to use video when the pandemic is over, the company said.

Overall, Match had a solid Q1 with revenue growth of 17% year-over-year to $545 million, and earnings per share growth of 31% to 55 cents. Both beat Wall St. expectations of $544.9 million and 34 cents per share, respectively.

But there were numerous signs of how the coronavirus took its toll on online dating.

Users’ unwillingness to go on in-person dates — the ultimate goal of online dating —  led to Tinder seeing first-time sequential subscriber declines from February to March, before things started to stabilize in April, Match said.

The majority of Match’s non-Tinder brands saw sequential declines in first-time subscribers in March as well, the company added.

Tinder ended the quarter with 6 million subscribers, up from 5.9 million in December 2019 — meaning it only added 100,000 new subscribers in the quarter. In the year-ago quarter, it had added 384,000 paid users. Tinder’s average revenue per user (ARPU) grew just 2%, mainly due to purchases of a la carte features.

The company also admitted it was “seeing some headwinds to ARPU” on Tinder due to fewer of those a la carte purchases and shifts to lower-priced subscriptions.

Despite these challenges, Tinder grew its direct revenue by 31% year-over-year and saw 28% year-over-year growth in subscribers. Non-Tinder brands saw direct revenue growth of just 2% year-over-year, and flat subscriber growth, by comparison.

“Tinder clearly remains a go-to app for meeting new people, which has become an even more critical service with so many people stuck at home,” noted Dubey, optimistically.

Like many other companies, Match declined to offer a full year financial outlook, saying there were too many unknowns with regard to the pandemic.

Instagram is today launching a new way for users to fundraise for nonprofits via Instagram Live, amid the coronavirus pandemic. While the company had already offered Donation Stickers for the use in Stories, the new Live Donations feature will allow anyone to create fundraisers while live streaming, either alone or with others for a sort of virtual telethon experience.

The feature arrives only a day after TikTok launched a donations feature that works in both its video posts and its live streams.

But unlike TikTok, which only supports a handful of charitable causes at launch, Facebook says its Live Donations feature can be used to create fundraisers for over a million nonprofits.

It also notes that 100% of the money raised goes directly to the nonprofit, as Instagram is not taking a cut — a common practice on some other fundraising platforms.

To use the new donations feature on live videos, you can either tap the camera in the top left of the Instagram Feed or swipe right in the Feed. You then tap “Live” at the bottom of the screen, select “Fundraiser” and choose the nonprofit you want to support.

When the broadcast begins, you’ll be shown how many people are supporting the fundraiser and the amount of money raised, in real-time. You can also tap on “View” to see a further breakdown of the donors, including the individual contributions in case you want to give them shout-outs in your video — something you can also do in real-time by tapping “Wave.”

Those who raise funds, make donations to fundraisers or use the Donation Sticker in Stories will also unlock an exclusive “I donated!” sticker created by Brazilian community illustrator @leonatsume. This sticker can be used in your Story to raise awareness for the cause. Your post is combined into a shared story with others you follow who also donated which you’ll find at the front of the line in your Stories bar.

This week, a number of public figures and creators will be taking advantage of the new Live Donations feature, including Sergio Ramos, Sofia Carson, @muslimgirl, @montoyatwinz, Tori Kelly, @tank.sinatra, and Lisa Rinna.

Instagram says it has seen a surge in Instagram Live use during the pandemic.

In the last month, for example, Instagram Live usage was up 70% as users turned to the platform to host conversations, dance parties, rap battles, and more. And many users were already raising funds for nonprofits over Instagram Live, despite the lack of an official feature, the company says.

Social platforms are one way people are connecting during the pandemic, with even Instagram’s previously floundering IGTV platform seeing a tremendous boost — the service’s daily users were up 48% month-over-month, from mid-March to mid-April, reported app store intelligence firm Apptopia.

Instagram’s parent company Facebook has been tapping into users’ increased interest in live video, too, with the recent rollout of a number of new features. Last week, it also introduced a way to fundraise over live video, for example. That feature works wherever Facebook supports nonprofit fundraisers. It also brought back “Live With,” so people could bring on guests as they go live — including for fundraising purposes.

And it launched a Houseparty-like experience called Messenger Rooms, a game streaming app for Facebook Gaming, and the ability to go live from its Portal device to Facebook Pages and Groups, among other things.

TikTok is making it easier for creators and their fans to donate to favorite charities amid the coronavirus pandemic. The company today announced the launch of a new, interactive feature, Donation Stickers, that creators can use on their videos and live streams in order to raise funds for favorite charities directly in the TikTok app. At launch, these stickers will work to support charitable partners including CDC Foundation, James Beard Foundation, Meals on Wheels, MusiCares, National PTA, National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation, No Kid Hungry, and The Actors Fund.

The stickers work like any other, in terms of being added to a video or a TikTok LIVE stream. However, when a user taps on the sticker, they’ll be guided to a pop-up window where they can make a donation to the charity the creator is fundraising for — without ever having to leave the TikTok app.

The donations themselves are being powered by charitable fundraising platform, Tiltify, which handles the payment processing for the donation transactions. Tiltify has experience with donation features embedded in live streams, having previously worked with the Twitch platform on various initiatives.

TikTok says the charitable organizations it partnered with for the launch of the feature includes those whose current missions to support vulnerable groups that are also reflective of TikTok communities.

The app today is among those being adopted by doctors, nurses and other health care workers. These medical professionals see TikTok a means of of connecting younger users with credible health information about the coronavirus outbreak and COVID-19 at a time when conspiracy theories and bogus “cures” are being marketed across social media, and even the president is making dangerous off-the-cuff remarks not backed by science.

In addition, many of the other causes supported by the Donation Stickers align with communities hit hard by coronavirus shutdowns — like actors, musicians, educators and restaurant workers, for example.

The company says it will also match donations raised through the Donation Stickers until May 27th. The hashtag #doubleyourimpact will be automatically added to videos and live streams that use the stickers, as a result.

“During this time of uncertainty, our community has come together and given back in countless ways, from applauding health care workers to sharing inspirational messages on how to stay safe and happy at home to making original coronavirus songs to spread positive messages,” wrote TikTok U.S. Head of Product, Sean Kim, in an announcement about the stickers’ launch. “We’ve been impressed and heartened by the selfless steps our community has taken to help each other, and now we’re excited to be able to give our users another way to make a positive impact.”

The addition of the stickers is one of several ways TikTok has been involved in coronavirus relief efforts. The company earlier this month pledged $250 million to support front-line workers, educators and local communities affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. It also provided an additional $125 million in advertising credits to public health organizations and businesses looking to rebuild.

The donation-matching through the new stickers will come from this $250 million fund. As part of the previously announced Community Relief Fund, TikTok is donating $4 million to No Kid Hungry and Meals on Wheels.

On May 5th through May 9th, TikTok is also hosting a week of TikTok LIVE streams focused on fundraising as a part of the “Happy At Home: #OneCommunity” nightly event.

The Gillmor Gang — Frank Radice, Michael Markman, Keith Teare, Denis Pombriant, Brent Leary, and Steve Gillmor . Recorded live Tuesday, April 21, 2020. Brent Leary joins the Gang as we blend streaming, Zoomcasting, and sheltering from the storm.

Produced and directed by Tina Chase Gillmor @tinagillmor

@fradice, @mickeleh, @denispombriant, @kteare, @brentleary, @stevegillmor, @gillmorgang

Liner Notes

Live chat stream

The Gillmor Gang on Facebook

Facebook will soon allow users to go on “virtual dates,” the company announced today. The social network is planning to introduce a new video calling feature that will allow users of its Facebook Dating service to connect and video call over Messenger, as an alternative to going on a real-world date. This sort of feature is much in demand amid the coronavirus pandemic, which has forced people to stay home and practice social distancing.

But for online dating apps which aim to connect people in the real world, it’s a significant challenge for their business.

For the time being, government lockdowns have limited the places where online daters could meet up for their first date. Restaurants, malls, bars, and other retail establishments are closed across regions impacted by the coronavirus outbreak. But even when those restrictions life, many online dating app users will be wary of meeting up with strangers for those first-time, getting-to-know-you dates. Video chat offers a safer option to explore potential connections with their matches.

When the new Facebook Dating feature goes live, online daters will be able to invite a match to a virtual date. The recipient can either choose to accept or decline the offer via a pop-up that appears.

If they accept, the Facebook Dating users will be connected in a video chat powered by Facebook Messenger in order to get to know one another.

As the feature is still being developed, Facebook declined to share more specific details about how it will work, in terms of privacy and security features.

Facebook is not the first online dating service to pivot to video as a result of the pandemic. But many rival dating apps were adopting video features well before the coronavirus struck, as well.

Bumble, for example, has offered voice and video calling in its app for roughly a year. The feature there works like a normal phone call or Apple’s FaceTime. However, users don’t have to share their phone number or other private information, like an email address, which makes it safer.

The company says use of the feature has spiked over the last two months as users embrace virtual dating.

Meanwhile, Match Group has more recently rolled out video across a number of the dating apps it operates.

This month, the Match app added video chat that allows users who have already matched to connect over video calls. Match-owned Hinge also rolled out a “Dating from Home” prompt and is preparing its own live video date feature, as well, Match says. Plenty of Fish (PoF), another Match property, launched livestreaming in March, giving singles a new way to hang out with friends and potential matches.

Match Group’s flagship app Tinder has not yet embraced live video dates, but still offers a way for users to add video to their profiles. The company couldn’t comment on whether or not video dating was in the works for Tinder, but in the post-COVID era, it would be almost bizarre to not offer such feature.

Other dating apps have also launched video dating, including eHarmony and a number of lesser-known dating apps hoping to now gain traction for their video dating concepts.

Facebook says the feature will roll out in the months ahead and will be available everywhere Facebook Dating is available.

Real-time voice transcription service Otter.ai is adding new functionality that will aid home school students and work-from-home employees alike. The company today is introducing an integration with Zoom in order to provide “Live Video Meeting Notes” — meaning, the ability to record and and view a live, interactive transcript directly from a video conference.

The feature is also designed to work even if the meeting participant is using a headset or earbuds, the company says.

To access the Live Video Meeting Notes, meeting participants can open the Otter.ai Live Transcript from the LIVE menu at the top of the Zoom window, then log into Otter.ai. However, they won’t need to remember to start or stop the live transcript — that happens automatically. The Otter live transcripts will also be available through the Zoom app on mobile.

When the meeting wraps, users can also refer back to the transcript to highlight, comment, and add photos to their meeting notes.

The feature is available for Otter for Teams and Zoom Pro subscribers or higher. The meeting host will need to have an Otter for Teams subscription, which is $20 per seat per month, with a minimum of 3 seats, based on the annual plan. Interested customers can trial the service for free for 2 months, using the code “OTTER RELIEF.”

The ability to access a transcription of the online meeting comes at a time when all business that can be managed virtually by home workers has been moved out of the office, amid the coronavirus pandemic. This, in turn, has seen the use of video conferencing apps skyrocket.

Otter.ai, too, has felt the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on its business.

According to Otter.ai CEO and founder Sam Liang, Otter usage with Zoom meetings has increased by more than 5X in the past few weeks and the company has seen more sign-ups from remote workers and students engaged in distance learning.

Besides being a useful tool for those attending web conferencing meetings, Otter’s transcripts can help people catch up with meetings they missed — a more common occurrence these days, as workers juggle their jobs, health, parenting, and home school teaching duties simultaneously.

To date, Otter has transcribed more than 25 million meetings, totaling over 250 million transcribed meeting minutes. While the company doesn’t disclose its user numbers or revenue, Liang told TechCrunch Otter.ai’s annual revenue run rate has doubled in less than four months since the end of 2019. The company is not yet profitable, but features like this new Zoom integration may help to push free users to paid plans.

“Virtual meetings have skyrocketed during the COVID-19 outbreak as organizations recognize that high quality voice meeting notes are a critical tool for employee productivity when collaborating within an office or in any virtual meeting,” said Liang, in a statement about the new integration.

The launch comes on the heels of Otter.ai’s existing partnership with Zoom, which allowed the video conferencing solution to license Otter’s voice transcription technology to offer post-meeting transcription. These transcriptions, however, would only be available an hour or two after the meeting wrapped, without any way to view the transcript being written live, in-real time, as today’s new integration allows. It also didn’t offer any way to interact with the transcript, such as highlighting or leaving comments.

In addition, the post-meeting transcription service was only aimed at Zoom Business users, while the new features are offered to Zoom Pro users.

Otter.ai says the new Zoom feature set is only one of several video conferencing integrations it has in the works, but didn’t provide details on what other services may be supported in the future.

The startup earlier this year raised another $10 million in funding from new strategic investor NTT DOCOMO. To date, Otter.ai has raised $23 million from Fusion Fund, GGV Capital, Draper Dragon Fund, Duke University Innovation Fund, Harris Barton Asset Management, Slow Ventures, Horizons Ventures and others.