Winnipeg's Librestream raises $11 million for industrial virtual presence platform

Winnipeg-based industrial video collaboration platform developer Librestream Technologies has raised an $11 million funding round, led by Emerald Technology Ventures with an assist from BDC Capital’s Industrial, Clean and Energy Venture Fund along with several other new and existing private shareholders and investment funds.
Librestream’s Onsight virtual presence video collaboration platform is deployed on over 10 million devices around the world, allowing a company’s employees to virtually resolve issues and assess problems in the field in real time, with a focus on the energy, field service, manufacturing, and public sector industries.
The transaction will see both Charles Vaslet of Emerald Technology Ventures and Geoff Catherwood of BDC Capital joining Librestream’s board of directors.
“Our solution is now deployed on every continent, driving strong business outcomes for our industrial and service customers. We feel it is critical to maintain this leadership position through aggressive growth including focused partner strategies, roadmap acceleration and international expansion,” explained Librestream President and CEO Kerry Thacher. “Adding investors of the caliber of Emerald and BDC with their strong networks of industrial partners will help solidify our position in an exciting new market that we have been at the forefront of creating.”
Librestream plans to use the funds to fuel growth, investing in sales and marketing resources for expansion into European and U.S. markets and also accelerating its product’s development.
Librestream introduced Onsight in 2006 and now has 45 employees in its Winnipeg office, as well as a single employee working out of an office in London.
Librestream CEO Kerry Thacher, without naming names, has said that two of the world’s largest jet-aircraft engine manufacturers are about to become customers.
“We identified Librestream as the leader in this growing segment for video collaboration for the industrial market,” said Emerald Technology Ventures partner Charles Vaslet. “Our research was reinforced by customers and partners who confirmed Librestream’s market leading position and the strong impact their products have on operations.”
Librestream was recently awarded the Frost & Sullivan Best Practices award for Video Collaboration Solutions for Manufacturing.
“We invest in capital-efficient and scalable businesses that have the potential to reach and operate across a global market,” added BDC Capital’s Industrial, Clean and Energy Venture Fund partner Geoff Catherwood. “Librestream fit these criteria with their proven platform that already delivers strong value to industrial enterprises.”