Clearhaven Partners Acquires Zixi

Zixi executive management team invests alongside Clearhaven to capitalize on global market momentum for IP-based live video and to fuel innovation and expansion

London(14 Jun 2024)

Zixi, provider of the award-winning Software-Defined Video Platform (SDVP®) and the industry leader for enabling reliable, scalable and cost-efficient live video transport over any internet protocol networks, today announced that Boston-based software private equity firm Clearhaven Partners has completed a significant investment in the Company alongside Zixi’s executive team to drive to the next stages of growth. 

Founded in 2006, Zixi provides end-to-end software solutions to 1400+ customers and 400+ integrated partner offerings to enable reliable broadcast-quality video delivery over any IP network for broadcasters, enterprises, OTT video providers, sports leagues and franchises, service providers, cable operators and telcos around the world. Zixi’s software solutions enable ultra reliable and scalable performance for the most discerning customer ecosystem including Amazon Prime Video, AWS Elemental Media Connect, FOX, Fubo, MLB, Net Insight, NHL, Paramount, Roku, SKY, Univision, Wurl, YouTube TV and hundreds of additional leading media and entertainment organizations globally. 

Among its offerings, Zixi’s innovative cloud-based ZEN Master live video orchestration and telemetry control plane enables global monitoring of all live streaming activity across connected Zixi nodes, complex workflow automation and advanced video and stream analytics delivering actionable insights. Zixi’s clients, among the largest media organizations globally, orchestrate, deliver and manage thousands of mission-critical streams in the cloud, on-premise and/or in private infrastructure environments throughout the powerful Zixi Enabled Network. The Zixi Enabled Network is the largest ecosystem of global third-party partner offerings empowering customers to seamlessly deliver over 20,000 live linear channels and millions of live events with rapid deployment speed and extreme scale in over 120 countries.  Zixi works with the leading digital-first OTT streaming companies, as well as traditional broadcasters and content owners who seek to benefit from the flexibility, scalability and interoperability of Zixi, allowing for the creation and acceleration of new content acquisition, business models and opportunities to reduce cost and generate revenue.

Clearhaven Partners is a Boston-based private equity firm founded in 2019 to focus exclusively on enterprise and B2B software investments. Clearhaven invests thematically – targeting companies such as Zixi for its differentiated solutions in managing complex content and data flows in hybrid infrastructure environments. Clearhaven will work closely with Zixi to support the Company’s continued innovation, customer-focused culture and scalability on its way to achieving next era growth and success. With Clearhaven’s backing, Zixi will deliver on its mission to be the technology partner of choice for IP-based media transport in the large, global market opportunity that has now reached a critical inflection point for growth. 

“Partnering with Clearhaven, an investor group with a great deal of expertise scaling software companies and with a unique video thesis, is a natural fit for Zixi and one that will enable us to double down on product innovation, set the highest standards for serving our valued, worldwide customer base and ensure our business achieves next level scale and scalability,” said Gordon Brooks, Chief Executive Officer and Executive Chairman of Zixi. “As we enter our next stage of growth and innovation, we're delighted to partner with Clearhaven to pursue the significant opportunities in our market.”

Industry analysts forecast IP-based video systems to reach $8B a year in the next decade with a 30% CAGR as IP transport accelerates ahead of satellite-driven use cases. In 2023 Zixi’s annual recurring revenue from OTT customers grew 100% year-over-year, with most utilizing Zixi-as-a-Service (ZaaS), Broadcaster customers grew over 30%, and the SDVP was used to broadcast over 1.5M live sporting events globally. This growth is reflective of Zixi’s leading role in the industry’s continued transformation and need for agile, cost-effective IP video workflows with best-in-class network visibility and orchestration. Zixi is a trusted partner for its consistent innovation, thought leadership and commitment to its customers’ success as they scale. Zixi’s platform monitors 9 billion mission-critical telemetry data points each day, driving powerful AI/ML-driven analytics, Live Predictive Health Scores, Trends and Insights, Automated Incident Detection & Root Cause Analysis for customers at a fraction of the cost of legacy manual methods. 

“Zixi is a bullseye fit for Clearhaven’s investment,” said Michelle Noon, Founder and Managing Partner of Clearhaven Partners. “We have long admired Zixi’s differentiated technology, unrivaled ecosystem integrations and position as a trusted technology partner to discerning global technology and media companies. As importantly, we are pleased to partner with Gordon and the Zixi management team and to complement the innovation and brand strength of Zixi with our skills in efficiently scaling enterprise software businesses in this exciting next chapter.”

Goulston & Storrs PC served as legal counsel and Raymond James & Associates, Inc. served as financial adviser to Zixi. Kirkland and Ellis LLP and Meitar served as legal counsel to Clearhaven Partners.

About Zixi

Zixi provides the cloud based and on-premises Software-Defined Video Platform (SDVP®) that enables reliable broadcast-quality video delivery over any IP network, any protocol, any cloud provider and any edge device. The company offers technologies for broadcasters, enterprises, over-the-top video providers, sports leagues, service providers, cable operators and Telcos around the world, giving them the lowest TCO in the industry.  Many of Zixi’s clients are delivering and managing thousands of streams, and there is no other alternative in the market that can provide 99.999%+ reliability at scale. Zixi simplifies building and managing congestion-aware live video routes on any network, with support for 18-protocols across any operating environment, with products that are purpose built to provide market leading performance, universal interoperability and an operational control plane that simplifies management and orchestration at scale. With 15+ years of innovation and expertise, the Zixi Enabled Network has grown to over 100+ media customers and 400+ OEM and service providers that deliver 20,000+ channels daily, with 110,000+ deployed instances in over 120 countries, gathering over 9 billion data points a day while delivering over 100,000 live sporting events a year. This powerful ecosystem of the largest media organizations in the world exchanging live video allows for the creation and acceleration of new content acquisition, business models, and opportunities to reduce cost and generate revenue. 

www.zixi.com 

About Clearhaven Partners LP

Clearhaven Partners is a Boston-based private equity firm focused exclusively on investments in software and technology businesses. Clearhaven was founded in 2019 by an investor-operator team to partner with differentiated, growing software and technology companies. Clearhaven brings a collective 50+ years of software investing and operating experience to its portfolio companies through its partnership approach to value creation to help companies scale profitably. Clearhaven manages approximately $1 billion in AUM as of 3/31/24. Visit us at www.clearhavenpartners.com.