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§ Private Profile · Brooklyn, New York City
VHX is a company.
VHX has raised $9.0M across 3 funding rounds.
Key people at VHX.
VHX has raised $9.0M in total across 3 funding rounds.
VHX operated as a digital distribution platform designed to empower independent filmmakers and artists. It provided creators with tools to sell premium video content directly from their own websites, offering features such as custom design, social media integration, search engine optimization, and analytics. The platform facilitated both streaming and DRM-free downloads, creating a direct-to-consumer channel for video creators.
The company was founded in 2011 in New York City by Jamie Wilkinson, an internet researcher, and Casey Pugh. Initially conceived as a video sharing community, VHX pivoted its focus after assisting comedian Aziz Ansari with an independent release, recognizing the significant potential in directly enabling filmmakers to monetize their creative work online. This strategic shift defined its subsequent development.
VHX primarily served independent filmmakers, artists, and various content distributors seeking to bypass traditional gatekeepers and connect directly with their audiences. The company’s vision centered on building a robust ecosystem where any video creator could establish and manage their own video business, offering autonomy and direct revenue streams outside of conventional distribution models.
Key people at VHX.
VHX was a digital distribution platform that enabled independent filmmakers and creators to sell premium video content directly to fans from their own websites, bypassing traditional intermediaries like DVDs or mainstream platforms.[1][2][3] It provided tools for design, social media integration, SEO, analytics, and over-the-top (OTT) subscription video channels, serving creators of films, documentaries, standup specials, live concert footage, lectures, and web series, while solving the problem of direct monetization in a fragmented online video market.[1][2][3] By 2015, VHX had generated $15 million in profit, hosted 10,000 films, and served 30,000 subscribers across 100 SVOD channels, demonstrating strong growth before its acquisition by Vimeo in May 2016.[1][3]
VHX was founded in 2011 (sources variously cite 2010 or 2012) in New York City—initially Brooklyn—by Jamie Wilkinson, an internet researcher, and Casey Pugh.[1][2][3][5] It started as a bootstrap-funded video sharing community called VHX.tv for discovering web videos, but pivoted after successfully helping comedian Aziz Ansari release his 2012 standup special *Dangerously Delicious*, shifting focus to empowering filmmakers with direct online sales tools.[1] Early traction included releases like *Miami Connection* (2012), Dave Grohl's *Sound City* (2013), and *Upstream Color* (2013), plus series such as *Foo Fighters: Sonic Highways* (2014) and *MeatEater*.[1] In August 2013, it raised a $3.2 million Series A, totaling $10.25 million from investors like Lerer Hippeau, Union Square Ventures, and Comcast Ventures, fueling expansion into mobile apps and OTT by early 2016.[2][3]
VHX rode the early 2010s shift from broadcast/cable to niche OTT streaming, enabling the "unbundling" of video into interest-based channels amid rising demand for premium, direct creator content.[3] Its timing capitalized on mobile video growth and platforms like YouTube's limitations for monetization, aligning with the creator economy boom before Netflix dominated stand-up and SVOD.[1][3] Market forces like cord-cutting and indie film surges (e.g., SXSW recognition in 2014) favored it, influencing the ecosystem by proving scalable direct sales—paving the way for Vimeo's pivot to creator tools and inspiring modern platforms like Patreon or Substack video.[1][3][4]
Post-2016 acquisition, VHX's technology integrated into Vimeo as its OTT services arm, with co-founder Jamie Wilkinson advancing to GM, enhancing Vimeo's competition against YouTube in creator monetization.[1][2][3] Looking ahead, its legacy endures in the exploding direct-to-consumer video market, shaped by AI personalization, Web3 ownership models, and global SVOD fragmentation; Vimeo's VHX-powered tools likely evolve to support emerging trends like interactive live events and VR content, solidifying influence in empowering independents amid Big Tech dominance.[3][4] This direct-sales pioneer set the stage for today's creator gold rush, proving small platforms can disrupt video distribution.
VHX has raised $9.0M across 3 funding rounds. Most recently, it raised $5.0M Series B in January 2015.
| Date | Round | Lead Investors | Other Investors | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 8, 2015 | $5M Series B | SAM Landman | Alexis Ohanian, Keith Calder, Lerer Hippeau, Lowercase Capital, Union Square Ventures | Announced |
| Aug 1, 2013 | $3M Series A | Andy Weissman | LOI Venture, Long Journey Ventures, Techstars, DON Hutchison, Mark Cuban, Scott Banister, Alexis Ohanian, John Maloney, Gunderson Dettmer, Lerer Hippeau, Lowercase Capital, WME | Announced |
| Jun 1, 2012 | $1M Seed | Chris Poole | Audrey Capital, Caffeinated Capital, Cerulean Ventures, First Round Capital, Harrison Metal, Index Ventures, LOI Venture, Long Journey Ventures, Lowercarbon Capital, Offline Ventures, Republic, SciFi VC, Techstars, The HIT Forge, Tribe Capital, DON Hutchison, George Burke, Kevin Jenkins, Mark Cuban, Mike Abbott, Mike Moloney, Phil Quist, Rudra Peram, Ryan Spoon, Scott Banister, Seth Goldstein, Alexis Ohanian, Chris Sacca, John S. Johnson, Keith Calder, Matt Mullenweg, Robert Pittman, Bedrocket Media Ventures | Announced |
VHX has raised $9.0M in total across 3 funding rounds.
VHX's investors include Sam Landman, Alexis Ohanian, Keith Calder, Lerer Hippeau, Lowercase Capital, Union Square Ventures, Andy Weissman, LOI Venture, Long Journey Ventures, Techstars, Don Hutchison, Mark Cuban.
