Two tech entrepreneurs behind video compression platform Eoovi are celebrating after receiving ‘significant’ investment to enable them to develop the platform to first stage launch.
Edinburgh-based Paul Gardiner and his business partner Brian Higgins, from Manchester, say Eoovi can reduce file sizes by 93 per cent.
BusinessCloud covered the pair’s plight late last year when Gardiner was at imminent risk of eviction.
Software engineer Gardiner, who started programming at 13 years of age, described the platform as a game changer.
“We can deliver a 4K movie with a 1 megabit-per-second connection. Netflix currently recommend having a minimum internet speed of 25 megabits-per-second, so we are already a long way ahead of the curve,” he said.
“This has huge cost-saving benefits to organisations as file and video sizes continue to increase. Eoovi also helps small rural businesses that don’t have access to a fast internet connection.
“The technology enables them to upload hundreds of large documents to a cloud-based system. Space is no longer an issue.”
Gardiner has invested £110,000 of his own money into building Eoovi over the last decade. But the future of the company was in jeopardy last year after a working demo was taken offline due to a lack of funding.
The financial cost of developing Eoovi left both Gardiner and Higgins homeless and living with family members.
However, the fortunes of the business have been turned around after it secured ‘significant’ investment from tech investors, Rick O’Neill, Gary Monaghan and Peter Borner.
The funding will be used to build a working prototype of Eoovi to demonstrate its capabilities to businesses. Higgins said: “The money gets us through a few stumbling blocks; it’s the light we need at the end of what has been a long tunnel. I fully believe the technology is going to transform the digital universe.”
Eoovi is already attracting interest from potential clients, Gardiner said: “This is an evolution. We are working towards making the platform a content delivery network and building a mobile system to revolutionise how television news crews transmit images.”
Eoovi’s recent success has been aided by joining Tech Manchester, a not-for-profit scheme pairing digital startups with established tech entrepreneurs.
Higgins said: “The programme, in conjunction with UKFast, has been so beneficial. Our mentor has offered advice and guidance as well as practical help like allowing us to use his office for meetings.”
Tech Manchester Lead Patricia Keating said: “It’s fantastic to see another startup in our mentoring scheme succeeding. Paul and Brian have invested a huge amount of time and money in Eoovi, at a big cost to them both personally.
“Their belief and passion in the business shines through and after hitting a few hurdles they are now able to show the world what they can do. We will continue to support them every step of the way.”