360fly films all around $17.8m

360fly, a spin-out of Carnegie Mellon University, has closed its series B at $17.8m. The round is led by new investor Qualcomm Ventures, the venture capital arm of semiconductor and wireless telecommunications technology firm Qualcomm. Catterton, a private equity firm, Voxx International, a consumer electronics company, and Steve Altman, the former president and vice-chairman of Qualcomm, also joined the round.

360fly was initially incorporated as EyeSee360, but changed its name earlier in 2014. It has built a single-lens camera and software platform – including smartphone apps, video hosting and sharing – that allow stitch-less 360-degree video to be captured. The company will use the money raised to advance its software and product development as it is approaching its planned autumn 2014 consumer launch.

In January 2014, Voxx announced at CES, an annual electronics and technology trade show in Las Vegas, that it had signed a distribution partnership with 360fly to bring the devices and software to market.

The technology was developed at Carnegie Mellon’s Robotics Institute, and was initially designed for aviation and military purposes. The company now squarely focuses on the consumer and broadcast market.

Tim O’Neil, chief executive at 360fly, said: “Our investment partners see the tremendous potential of 360fly to deliver a product and software solution that will revolutionise the way people consume and share video. The positive feedback we are receiving from consumers around our new products is matched only by the national retailer community’s interest in supporting our launch in the fall.”