Interactive Streaming App Cofounded By Mark Cuban Fireside Raises $25 Million

Mark Cuban’s interactive streaming app, Fireside, has officially confirmed that it raised $25 million in its Series A funding round, bringing the company’s valuation up to $138 million post-money.

Last year, after enticing a number of well-known creators to its streaming platform for live and virtual shows, the company was said to be standing at a $125 million valuation.

Fireside – turning creators and celebrities into studios and networks

According to Tech Crunch, Fireside’s funding and valuation have been confirmed through the company’s most recent investor update which also lists the company’s new strategic investors like Paris Hilton, Tim Connors from PivotNorth, Zeke Bronfman + Evan Abraham, Redbeard Ventures and David DeVoe.

This further confirmed earlier speculations that the company’s Series A funding round had closed despite the Fireside not announcing it publicly at the time.

In addition, the update also provides a sneak peek at its interactive streaming solution for smart TVs which is made possible through the acquisition Fireside made last year of the streaming TV platform Stremium.

During the acquisition, Fireside state the agreement would aid in the acceleration of its goals towards becoming the “only platform that turns creators, celebrities, brands, and IP owners into the studio, networks, and streaming services of the future.”

As such, the business aspires to soon make its interactive technology available on smart TVs, Fire TV, Apple TV, and Roku. This would allow users to view content on the big screen and interact with it using their phones while their comments are show up on the TV.

Fireside has previously been compared to other live platforms like Twitter Spaces or Clubhouse, but those comparisons were not entirely correct. The app distinguishes itself not only by emphasizing its interactive video streaming, but also by allowing users to record, save, and even broadcast their favorite shows to other social networks.

As part of its end-to-end content production experience, the app also offers a number of audience engagement tools and other features to help creators with promotion, editing, measurement, distribution, revenue, and audience growth.

Another benefit of the merger with Stremium is that Fireside will be adding more partners to its platform. The agreement onboards more than 100 new networks with 24/7 broadcasting live interactive programming.

This includes networks USA Today, English Football, eSports, Billiard, Boxing, Ted Talks, Docurama, Global Fashion Channel, InspireFlix, ArtFlix Movie Classics, Law & Crime and MMA.

The Fireside app will provide a “On Now” signal for these channels, enabling users to watch with other viewers and respond and comment.This technology has gained popularity in various streaming services outside of the United States, such as Rakuten’s Viki, which enables viewers to watch and respond to shows in real time.

Fireside on The Real Housewives of Orange County

Fireside was co-founded by Cuban, early Yammer employee Mike Ihbe (who has since left), and former Googler, YouTuber, and co-founder of Node Falon Fatemi, who sold her most recent business to SugarCRM.

Due to its growing popularity, the app has drawn attention from well-known creators like Jay Leno, Michael Dell, Melissa Rivers, Craig Kilborn, and screenwriter and “Entourage” creator Doug Ellin.

The list of creators further entails Tyler Henry, a well-known Hollywood actor, as one of its creators in the investor update, noting that his network has “tens of thousands of members globally” who contact with him “multiple times per month.”

Fireside has also landed a deal with The Real Housewives of Orange County star Heather Dubrow who will debuts a lifestyle network called the HD Network on Fireside. As such, The firm will also get its own Hollywood moment on May 9 during the network’s launch.

This will give the app some advertising considering the fact that both Fatemi and Cuban will also be in Season 17 of The Real Housewives of Orange County.

According to the investor update, talent, brands, and IP owners can generate a minimum of $35 million in net new revenues annually in their first year on Fireside. The company said it is currently witnessing a “minimum of $100K” within the first few hours of a stream’s start. Creators are able to monetize their shows through selling tickets or advertising.

In order to expand globally, Fireside plans to become profitable this year and is currently being considered for a Series B round of funding in which it hopes to bring in foreign strategic investors.

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