Cloud media startup Plizy has raised $4 million from Atlas Ventures, with Atlas Ventures’ Fred Destin joining the board, alongside Paypal President David Marcus. The news, reported by AllthingsD and TechCrunch (though still not updated on Crunchbase), comes as the formerly Paris-based startup has officially installed itself in San Francisco.
“Plizy is the media center in the cloud that allows users to search, organize, watch and share any movie, show or video that is available online. Plizy aggregates more than 550,000 movies, 200,000 shows and one hundred million videos from the major video services making it the most comprehensive database available on the market. Through Plizy, content can be viewed on the iPad, web and TV, and users can discover new videos based on their interests, preferences and moods. Developed around the social graph, Plizy makes friends part of the viewing experience and uses advanced algorithms to put consumers within one click of any desired video.
With Plizy, you’ll always know when a new episode of your favorite TV show is available and where, that is one click away!
By connecting your Facebook and Twitter account, you will let your friends help you discover new content.”
– Plizy’s YouTube Description for its 2.0 Demo Video
Around now seems like a good time to say that Plizy was the startup that originally brought me to Paris – specifically, Jonathan Benessaya himself, and his vision for video discovery. I left the startup after the completion of an internship, having already launched my personal blog and desiring to discover the Paris startup scene a little further instead of following the Paris team to San Francisco.
Because of my personal involvement in the company, I will refrain from my usual analysis of a startup, and will instead present you with a few screenshots and a demo video, and leave you to try the Version 2.0 of the application, now available on iPad.