Watch Out Netflix, Here Comes VHX: Direct Film Distribution Platform Gets Big Backers

VHX, the direct video distribution platform, today announced a $3.2 million Series A financing round

led by Union Square Ventures. Existing investors Lerer

Ventures, Lowercase Capital and Alexis Ohanian (Initialized) were part of the new financing, in addition to new investors William Morris Endeavor, John Maloney (Terrapin Bale) and Gunderson Dittmer. Andy Weissman of Union Square Ventures will join

VHX’s board of directors.

The company announced the big news on its blog, saying, “In the last year, VHX has grown from two people and a comedy special into an eight-person team with a solid software platform and dozens of great releases.”

The VHX platform is

still in private beta, but Aziz Ansari,

Dave Grohl, Shane Carruth and Ira Glass have all used it to sell their work directly to fans. According to VHX, the platform has launched 60 releases to 300K

customers, with $2M+ in gross revenue.

“We

help creators give audiences what they want: simple purchasing, videos

that work everywhere, and the opportunity to support artists directly,”

said VHX co-founder Casey Pugh in the announcement. Over the last year, the

company has worked closely with companies such as Drafthouse Films,

Sundance Institute, the Kickstarter Film Festival and Vice Media.

“Distribution

is no longer just about getting your title into other people’s

marketplaces,” said co-founder and CEO Jamie Wilkinson in a statement. “Anything that used

to be sold on DVD can be sold online with VHX. By enabling creators to

run their own video stores, we can give them more control, full access

to their data, and the opportunity to build more meaningful

relationships with their customers.“

Pugh and Wilkinson were featured on Indiewire’s inaugural Influencers list earlier this summer. Meanwhile, VHX said it is looking for beta testers and new team members. Look for details here.

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