Eyespot
The business, the turning points, and the decisions behind them.
01 / WHAT IT BUILT
What the company did
Eyespot was an online video editing and sharing site launched in April 2006 that let users edit and combine videos, photos, and music into a single video, uploading from PCs or cell phones. Backed by $3.7 million led by Gabriel Venture Partners (with Michael Robertson of MP3.com), it offered a browser-based video remix service for consumers and a white-label hosted platform for brands — its technology powered Sony BMG's Musicbox remix feature — with media partners including Blip.tv, Veoh, Current TV, and Lions Gate.
02 / Eyespot FAILURE REASONS
Failure reasons
Eyespot fought in the crowded 2006–2008 'online video editor war' against Jumpcut, Cuts, and others without a clear path to monetization: the site carried no ads and offered no premium tier. Contemporaneous coverage also flagged the low quality and obscurity of user videos. When the consumer service could not find a sustainable business, Eyespot shut down in October 2008; its remaining technology was picked up for white-label use by video production company Pixelfish that December.
03 / EVENT HISTORY
Events in the structured record
- Launched; funding
Eyespot launched in April 2006 as an online video editing and remix site, raising $3.7 million led by Gabriel Venture Partners; it partnered with Blip.tv and Veoh and powered Sony BMG's Musicbox remix feature.
- Shut down
Eyespot shut down its consumer service in October 2008, joining TechCrunch's Deadpool amid the shakeout of online video editors.
- Technology acquired by Pixelfish
In December 2008 video production company Pixelfish acquired the recently shut-down Eyespot's online video editing and white-label video technology; terms were not disclosed.
04 / CONTEMPORARY REBUILD ASSESSMENT
Difficulty of rebuilding this project today
Material for this section is being gathered and checked. It will appear here once ready.
Overall assessment: Not completed
05 / CAUSAL CHAIN
How the factors connect
- 01
Eyespot launched in April 2006 as a browser-based video editing and remix site, raising $3.7 million led by Gabriel Venture Partners and signing media partners including Blip.tv, Veoh, and Sony BMG.
- 02
Its white-label business powered branded remix experiences, but the consumer site had no ads and no premium tier, leaving monetization an open question.
- 03
In October 2008 Eyespot shut down its consumer service, landing in TechCrunch's Deadpool during the shakeout of the online video editor market.
- 04
In December 2008 video production company Pixelfish acquired the shut-down company's editing and white-label video technology.