Co-watching platform, Scener where creators can engage audiences of up to a million in a virtual movie theater, has raised US$ 2.1M in Seed Funding on 1st October.
The seed funding was led by SeaChange. Other participants in the funding round include Glaser Investments, Jason Calacanis’ Syndicate, LAUNCH, RiffTrax and angel investors including RiffTrax CEO David G. Martin and technology executive Sriram Krishnan.
The funds raised will be utilized to accelerate product development for its social platform and expand its events and community of watch party hosts, creating a nightly destination for collective entertainment viewing.
About Scener
It was founded in 2018 by Daniel Strickland and Joe Braidwood. Scener provides a platform for creators and movie lovers where they can watch and connect over the world’s best streaming content while enjoying synchronized playback and live video chat. Scener supports Netflix, HBO Max, Prime Video, Funimation, Vimeo, YouTube, Disney Plus, Hulu, Alamo On Demand and Hotstar. It charges a subscription fee for each user for its premium services.
Scener was incubated by media streaming pioneer RealNetworks Inc. and the LAUNCH Accelerator. Creators can easily set up a profile at Scener.com and host public or private watch parties. Scener’s virtual theaters can hold up to one million viewers with live video chat. It has interactive messaging features over synchronized playback of the streaming content.
“We’re incredibly excited about this funding milestone, as it enables us to double down on our vision to become the ultimate watch party destination for anyone craving a social entertainment experience. The funding not only helps to further our commitment to bring people together over the shows and movies they love, but it helps speed up our plans to bring Scener to new services and devices, as well as build up our community of incredible party hosts — from RiffTrax to Fantastic Fest. The Virtual Movie Theater is open and we’d love to see you join us there tonight!” said Joe Braidwood, co-founder and COO of Scener.
Scener has experienced massive growth since the onset of the pandemic. With almost half a million active Chrome extension installs and over 13.5 million viewer minutes per week.
What the investors have to say
“Scener is the premier way to host and enjoy watch parties and fills a void for so many of us as the movie theater experience, a beloved pastime, remains in limbo and more people turn to streaming. Scener’s ability to coalesce storytelling and social experiences into a single platform, agnostic across major streaming platforms, is incredibly impressive and drove our confidence in this small and scrappy Seattle-based team. Their product creates a genuine feeling of togetherness and has grown tremendously as a result. We are very bullish on what the future holds for Scener,” said Susan Preston, Managing Partner at SeaChange.
“We’re thrilled to be partnering with Scener to feature our comedic live riff commentary synchronized with blockbuster movies across major streaming services,” said David G. Martin, CEO of RiffTrax.
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