Aimetis raises $5 million

WATERLOO, Ontario—Aimetis, a maker of video management software with built-in video analytics, has raised $5 million in capital as part of a series A funding round. Investors include Canadian venture capital firms Covington Capital and Venturelink, both of whom have experience in the high-technology space, but have not previously invested in security-focused companies.

Aimetis CEO Marc Holtenhoff said the company was in an enviable position as it approached the venture community. “We're generating positive cash flow,” he said. “We don't need the money. But there are some opportunities we can capture better with some capital on hand.” He said Covington and Venturelink were pleased with the company's past performance, the management team, and the network video surveillance market itself, which IMS Research projects will grow at a compound annual growth rate of 25 percent through 2013, reaching a $13 billion market size.

Holtenhoff would not reveal his company's revenue, but he said it's growing faster than those project figures supplied by IMS.

He said his company is in a different position than companies like VideoIQ or Pivot3, who are also in the network video space and recently announced financing rounds. “We're growing a little more organically,” he said, “and not getting too far ahead of ourselves. But we realize there are opportunity costs. We felt it was the right time to raise a series A and accelerate our growth and make more figures happen on the revenue side, and we also see some opportunities for product development.”

Further, while many people view Aimetis as a “video analytics” company, Holtenhoff said the majority of his revenue comes through video management software without the analytics. The company currently has 40 employees, and is hiring, and has technology partners in roughly 90 countries. About 50 percent of the company's business comes from outside North America.

Covington and Venturelink will take seats on the Aimetis board, but Holtenhoff said there would be no management changes as a result of the funding round.