Sky invests US$2m in connected device firm Circle Media Labs

Sky has invested US$2 million in Circle Media Labs, a tech company specialising in connected devices.

Sky described Circle Media Labs as an “early-stage technology company” and said in a brief statement that the investment would provide it with “additional insight into developments within the field.”

Further details regarding the company and the devices it is working on are unclear and Sky did not respond to a request for further details at the time of going to press.

The move marks the latest in a string of technology investments by Sky. In October the company invested US$2 million (€1.8 million) in Caavo, a stealth US-based startup that was set-up in 2015 by a small team that included late Slingbox founder Blake Krikorian.

Caavo is headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area and has developed a set-top box that is designed to ‘unify home entertainment’ by connecting pay TV, streaming and gaming.

In the second half of last year Sky also invested €4 million in French over-the-top video platform Molotov, US$1 million (€890,000) in the Drone Racing League, and £1.55 million in eSports broadcaster Ginx TV.

Earlier this year Sky acquired a majority stake in a northern England-based production company, True North, and an undisclosed stake in drama producer Chrysalis Vision.

Update:

A Sky spokesperson confirmed to DTVE that Circle Media Labs is a Portland, US-based stage start-up that allows families to manage all of their home’s connected devices from a single app. This allows parents to filter content, limit screen time on their children’s devices, and ‘pause’ the internet.

“As an early stage company, we don’t have any plans to launch a similar product here, this is purely an insight-driven investment as part of our wider start-up strategy,” said the Sky spokesperson.