Affectiva Raises $12m for Online Video Move

US-based emotion measurement specialist Affectiva has raised $12m in Series C financing, which it plans to use to accelerate development of its Affdex facial expression analysis technology for use across all forms of online video content.

Founded in 2009 by Professor Rosalind Picard and research scientist Rana el Kaliouby from a collaboration with the Media Lab at MIT, Affectiva has since launched the Affdex automated facial coding platform and the Q Sensor wearable biometric sensor.

Last year, WPP-owned Kantar invested $3m in Affectiva and the firm then raised a further $2.7m in investment funding. Since then, it has partnered with Millward Brown to offer clients deeper insight into the emotional impact of their TV advertising, and it has also struck a deal with eye tracking software solutions firm iMotions to integrate the latter's Attention Tool platform with Q Sensor.

The latest funding comes from Horizons Ventures and Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers (KPCB) Digital Growth Fund, with participation from existing investors. As a part of the financing, Frank Meehan of Horizons Ventures will join Affectiva's Board of Directors, and Mary Meeker, a partner at KPCB, will join as an Affectiva Board observer.

Affectiva says it will use the funds to adapt Affdex for all forms of online video content, including ads, trailers, TV shows and movies. Using standard webcams on laptops, tablets and smartphones, respondents will watch Affdex-enabled online videos and then have the option of sharing their emotional experiences with friends, family and content providers.

The additional financing will also support continued development of Q Sensor, to enable the tool to collect data on areas such as sleep, anxiety and stress.

CEO David Berman (pictured) comments: 'Our goal is to make Affdex a globally ubiquitous tool that enables people to understand and share their emotional experiences online. While there is tremendous value for online video publishers to better understand consumer engagement with their content, we want to take this even further, so that consumers can see and share their own personal emotional scores.'

Web site: www.affectiva.com .