Resources

iSIZE: the Dolby of the video space

6 May 2021

By The Bio Tech team

Investment thesis

Video streaming needs – and costs – are growing globally. Data centres contribute more to global emissions than the aviation industry.

Video will represent 82% of the total global internet traffic by 2022. Streaming video in ultra high- definition (UHD) on a smartphone produces 8 times the carbon emissions of standard definition.

iSIZE has built a deep learning solution to optimise video streaming quality while substantially reducing size and bandwidth, making it quicker to transmit.

iSIZE’s technology has applications across VoD, live streaming, gaming and IoT, without requiring changes to the streaming process or to end-users’ devices.

iSIZE has a rarely seen level of commercial engagement in place for deep tech companies at this stage, with leading technology and streaming companies as their first customers.

Who are the pioneers?

The calibre of angel investor a startup attracts reflects its potential. So the fact that Patrick Pichette, Chairman of Twitter and ex CFO of Google, and other highly respected deep tech angel investors have backed iSIZE so early speaks volumes. The founding team are seasoned technologists with deep expertise in the video streaming and machine learning space: Sergio Grce (CEO) has 12 years’ background in investment banking and private equity and Professor Yiannis Andreopoulos (CTO) is a leading academic in the data/signal processing and deep neural networks and made major contributions to image/vision computing and large-scale multidimensional data analysis. Yiannis brings 20 years’ experience in video coding and machine learning, with 150+ research papers, several patent applications and extensive engagement with the industry in consulting and advisory roles. It is rare for businesses at this stage in this space to have generated this level of commercial traction. This is testament to the team’s exceptional drive, execution capability, and the superiority of the deep-tech solutions they have engineered. This was echoed in most conversations we had with advisors and mentors of the business.

Why us?

Our experience with Magic Pony (acquired by Twit t er in 2016) lays the foundation of a good understanding of the technology and the wider video streaming space. Developing the company’s Go To Market strategy and Business Development team play to our ability, through our Venture Partners and Talent Team, to rapidly deploy resources in these areas. iSIZE is looking to set up a presence in the US, alongside its potential tech giant customers, so our New York office and wider US network is ready to facilitate and accelerate this process. The team’s scale of ambition – to be to video what Dolby – ($8.5Bn Market Cap) is to sound – matches our mission to help pioneers build world-changing companies. Having formed our relationship with Sergio and Yiannis over the last couple of years, we’re confident this will become a reality.