Minute Media, the BlackRock- and Goldman Sachs-backed media company that owns Sports Illustrated, The Players’ Tribune, and 90 Minutes, announced Monday that it is acquiring VideoVerse, an Indian AI startup specializing in automated sports video highlights.
Founded in 2016 in Mumbai, VideoVerse develops AI-powered tools that allow broadcasters and streaming platforms to identify key moments in sports footage, generate highlight reels, and automatically publish clips across social media. Its clients include the Indian Premier League, Women’s Premier League, FIFA+, Nippon TV, and Clubber TV.
Sources told TechCrunch that VideoVerse was valued between $200 million and $250 million in its last round in 2023, and Minute Media’s acquisition falls in a similar range. CEO Asaf Peled called it the company’s largest acquisition by both value and scale.
Minute Media has grown rapidly through acquisitions, having previously bought The Players’ Tribune, FanSided, Mental Floss, and STN Video. The addition of VideoVerse strengthens its strategy to merge AI-driven content creation with its wide publisher network that reaches over 200 million monthly users and nearly 500 B2B distribution partners.
VideoVerse, which has raised $105 million to date from investors including Bluestone Equity Partners and Alpha Wave, has reached $65 million in revenue with EBITDA margins of 35%–40%. The company recently launched AI tools that allow broadcasters to define rules, for example, generating highlight reels of all three-pointers by a basketball player, and added AI-powered translation features to broaden global reach.
Minute Media plans to use VideoVerse’s highlight-generation technology to target U.S. sports leagues, aiming to deliver mobile-first, AI-driven content to fans while creating new advertising opportunities.
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“With VideoVerse, we can pitch an AI-powered content suite, then add our distribution and monetization capabilities on top of it,” said Peled. “It’s about creating more value from every moment of the game.”
