Verizon Ventures is among a group that recently plowed $3.2 million into Streamroot, a startup that’s focused on a P2P-style “distributed” OTT video delivery platform that offers an alternative to more traditional server-based content delivery networks.

The Verizon VC was joined in the round by Partech Ventures, Techstars Venture Capital Fund, and R/GA.

Founded in 2013, France-based Streamroot has raised $6 million so far and counts Dailymotion, Canal+, Eurosport (part of the Discovery Communications group), and Russia Today as announced customers. The company estimates that it’s powering more than 400 million video session per month, and that 50% to 80% of its customers’ traffic is being delivered through its distributed architecture.

Streamroot sells a WebRTC-based P2P delivery system, holding that the efficiency of its approach can help online video achieve massive scale. Per its site, it offers flat-fee pricing that’s “akin to traditional satellite or television broadcasting.”

Others in the service provider sector are keeping a close eye on friendly forms of P2P.

Of recent note, UpRamp, the CableLabs-backed accelerator program, recently added Teltoo, a P2P tech startup, to a group that will be part of its “Fiterator” program.

RELATED: Four Startups Picked for CableLabs-Backed UpRamp Program

Teltoo, based in Madrid, Spain, is also looking to bring managed P2P into the streaming conversation with a scalable, ISP-friendly approach for delivering OTT at scale. Teltoo implements a small piece of JavaScript on its partner’s streaming video player for everything from laptops, to mobile devices and even set-top boxes. In tandem, those players are connected using WebRTC. Behind that is a server that represents the “brain” of the solution and manages the connections while a live stream is being delivered.

“This is a technology for cable operators and traditional broadcasters to help them to distribute streams over the internet,” and do so without buffering or other types of technical interruptions, company co-founder and CEO Pablo Hesse explained in this recent interview (subscription required).

Liberty Global and RTVE, Spain’s state broadcaster, are among Teltoo's known customers. 

Verizon Ventures and R/GA are teaming on a program focused on helping growth and early-stage companies that are involved in “disruptive technologies” tied to digital entertainment and media consumption.

They said the focus of the Verizon Media Tech Venture Studio will be focused on, but not limited to, areas such as content creation and personalization, VR/AR, AI, image recognition, content distribution, interactive advertising, eSports, and other emerging digital media platforms.

Per the new program’s web site, Verizon Ventures and R/GA will jointly invest up to $100,000 in each selected company, and select up to ten companies for the program. “Deal terms will depend in part on the stage of each startup as well as the terms of funding raised previously by each startup,” the program Q&A reads.

Selected companies will also have access to Verizon’s tech platforms and senior product leaders at Verizon’s digital businesses, including those involved with Fios, Go90, AOL and Verizon Digital Media Services. They’ll also get a chance to work with R/GA’s strategic marketing, consulting, branding, design, and technology teams.

The program will be held at Verizon’s new co-working facility in New York City’s Flatiron district. Program participants will need to make and pay for their own living arrangements.

The Verizon Media Tech Venture Studio’s application process runs from March 10 through May 30. Selected companies will be notified on July 5. The program will start on July 31, and conclude in mid-November, culminating in an invite-only demo event, where each selected company will get a chance to present to investors, industry leaders, and the press. 

"Verizon is at the forefront of the digital media revolution and we continue to explore the next wave of media innovation,” John Doherty, SVP of corporate development at Verizon and head of Verizon Ventures, said in a statement. “The Verizon Media Tech Ventures Studio with R/GA will connect us with emerging startups that are shaping the future of this business. Verizon and R/GA have created an advanced program for startups with unparalleled access to resources, technology and intellectual capital that will accelerate their growth.”

The new program appears to have some similarities to UpRamp, an accelerator/incubator program for startups from CableLabs. Under that program, selected companies get valuable exposure with cable operators and some guaranteed commercial deals. UpRamp also asks for a small equity stake, in the form of warrants, in each private company that’s picked for the program. 

RELATED: UpRamp Gets Small Stake In Startup Selections

Beamr Imaging, a video optimization specialist focused on advanced encoding and processing, said it has landed an additional $4 million in funding from Verizon Ventures.

The latest funding should take Beamr past $28.5 million in total funding, according to CrunchBase. Existing Beamr investors include Eric Schmidt’s fund Innovation Endeavors, Marker LLC, and Disruptive.

Beamr announced a $15 million “C” round in March alongside a deal to acquire Vanguard Video, which works with companies such as Crackle, Netflix, Imagine Communications, and Arris, among others.

Beamr, based in Tel Aviv and founded in 2009, said the new funds will help to accelerate development of new product elements that tie into its perceptual quality measure technology.

Beamr’s H.264 and H.265/HEVC video optimization and technology and encoders target several markets, including OTT, cable and satellite systems and managed IP networks. Beamr claims that its techniques can reduce bit rates by an additional 20% to 50% while still adhering to the underlying encoding standards.

"Beamr's vision has always been to merge standards-based encoding technologies with the benefits of our perceptual quality measure, so the industry can meet the heightened consumer expectations for video quality while staying within network constraints," Sharon Carmel, CEO and founder of Beamr, said in a statement. "Our approach to bitrate reduction has attracted an industry-leading customer base where network capacities and media storage requirements are under pressure, but where exceptional video quality must be maintained."

“Beamr significantly addresses the pain and costs of storing and delivering high bandwidth video content over increasingly congested networks, with no loss in visual quality, “ added David Famolari, director at Verizon Ventures. “As more HD and ultra-HD content becomes available, Beamr’s technology can be critical to delivering superior end-user quality of experience.”