Motionbox Raises $6 Million

Motionbox, a New York-based personal video sharing and storage site, has raised $6 million in Series C funding. Constellation Ventures led the round, and was joined by fellow return backers Canaan Partners and SAS Investors.

PRESS RELEASE

Motionbox, the leading personal video sharing and storage site, today announced the initial closing of its $6 million Series C investment round. The investment was led by the Company’s current investor, Constellation Ventures, with participation from earlier venture investors, Canaan Partners and SAS Investors.

Commenting on the transaction, Liza Boyd, Managing Director from Constellation Ventures said, “Motionbox is positioned to be the game changer in the personal video space. While other companies have been out touting their one-off features, Motionbox has quietly and diligently developed a feature-rich high definition product and technology platform that continues to receive kudos from users and Tier 1 partners like AOL. We’re thrilled to expand our commitment to the company.”

The Company announced the promotion of Josh Grotstein to CEO. Mr. Grotstein has been working with the company as its COO since the spring of 2008, and was tapped by the Board and the founder & former CEO, Chris O’Brien, to take the hand-off from Mr. O’Brien. Mr. O’Brien will now serve as Chairman of the Board and as EVP of Strategy and Corporate Development, working very closely with Mr. Grotstein on critical business issues.

Mr. Grotstein brings over 24 years of significant experience and subject-matter expertise as a senior digital media and marketing executive and as an investor in digital media and technology companies. He has worked across the spectrum of company sizes and stages, including NBC, where he founded and ran the company’s digital unit; Citigroup where he ran the corporation’s global Internet and e-Commerce programs; CNBC, where he headed up business development and affiliate marketing; and Prodigy, where he led all Content and e-Commerce programs. Most recently, Mr. Grotstein was one of the founding partners of SAS Investors, where his fund made many early-stage technology and media investments, including the initial investment in Motionbox. He has an A.B. from Brown University and an MBA from Harvard.

“Online video in 2009 is today where the web was in 1996, ready to explode in various directions and niches,” Mr. Grotstein noted. “In the personal video arena, where safety, ease of use, and quality are all critical elements, Motionbox’s platform can’t be surpassed by any other service in the marketplace. That’s largely due to the vision of and the technology deployed by the team assembled by Chris O’Brien. The company’s recent 400% growth in its user base and the addition of several new Tier 1 partners, is testimony to the market’s validation of Motionbox as the pre-eminent platform for high quality/high definition personal video.”

Mr. O’Brien noted Mr. Grotstein’s “significant media and technology industry expertise,” and further stated that Mr. Grotstein “brings to Motionbox both the operational maturity and the deep understanding of the particular needs of both sides of the large company/small company “chasm”; this in turn make him particularly adept at scaling a rapidly developing company such as Motionbox.”

About Motionbox:

Motionbox enables individuals and families to easily upload, edit, store, and share their personal video memories, including those that have been captured in High Definition. In addition to free membership options on Motionbox.com and via partners, Motionbox provides a subscription-based Premium service featuring HD playback and sharing, unlimited archival storage, and download capabilities. Motionbox also offers hard-good products that allow consumers to enjoy personal videos beyond devices and computers. Visit http://www.motionbox.com for more information.