Canadian Startup Keek Raises $7 Million, Adds Two Million Users in One Month

September 18, 2012

Toronto’s Keek, a free social video platform, today announced it has closed a $7 million financing round, bringing the total investment in Keek to more than $12 million. The Canadian startup raised over $5 million last October.

Cranson Capital Securities led the round with participation from Pinetree Capital Ltd and Whitecap Venture Partners. The new financing will accelerate expansion to meet surging demand for its social video sharing service, the company says.

Keek’s community is logging a large amount of original user-generated videos and social activity. The startup saw 250 million pageviews and 21 million visits in August. 66,000 videos were created every day during the month. According to the company, it has attracted two million new users in the past month.

“With its rapidly growing user base and highly active community, Keek is uniquely positioned to dominate this fast-growing market,” said Devon Cranson, President, Cranson Capital Securities. “Keek is redefining the future of this space and their recent growth confirms there is a huge demand for social video.”

“Keek’s recent growth surge is due to its superior technology infrastructure and intuitive user experience,” said Sheldon Inwentash, CEO, Pinetree Capital. “We’re thrilled to be working with such a talented and dedicated team.”

“We are committed to delivering the fastest, most engaging social video experience,” said Isaac Raichyk, CEO of Keek. “This new funding will allow us to keep the momentum going, accelerate product development, scale the infrastructure and expand globally.”

Keek is a new social network that connects people via 36 second video updates known as “keeks”. With a host of unique features, Keek is a powerful new way to connect and engage with others. Users can follow and/or subscribe to other users; respond to keeks with text or video comments via “keekbacks”; manage content, settings and real-time activity through a personal dashboard; and monitor performance with a free analytics tool. Keek’s latest Klusters feature lets users join group discussions, explore new topics or watch real-time keeks related to current events.

Cranson Capital Securities is a boutique investment banking firm located in Toronto. Pinetree Capital was incorporated under the laws of the Province of Ontario and its shares are publicly traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange.