About OpenReel
OpenReel is a Technology company based in New York (United States) founded in 2016 by Shijo Joe Mathew and Lee Firestone, and was acquired by Banzai in December 2024. Remote video capture and AI-powered editing platform is provided. OpenReel has raised $23.68 million across 3 funding rounds from investors including Banzai, Five Elms Capital and Las Olas. Its chief executive, as recorded, is Lee Firestone. Its focus areas include Enterprise Applications, Video Creation Tools, Video Editors and Specialized Video Editor. Its competitors include Kaltura, VBrick Systems and Kollective; 2 of its 3 listed competitors have raised funding.
Company details
OpenReel was founded in 2016 in New York, United States, as a provider in the video technology sector. A platform for remote video capture and AI-assisted editing is offered, enabling high-quality recordings on various devices. Secure cloud storage and customizable templates are included to support video creation. Operations focus on simplifying production processes for users across geographies. Co-founders Shijo Joe Mathew and Lee Firestone lead the company.
Apps and channels of OpenReel
its YouTube channel OpenReel has 112 subscribers and 30 videos.
Videos from OpenReel
The most watched videos on OpenReel's YouTube channel, OpenReel (112 subscribers). Click a video to play it here.
More on OpenReel.
Funding Insights of OpenReel
OpenReel has successfully raised a total of $23.68M across 3 strategic funding rounds. The most recent funding activity was a Series A round of $19 million completed in March 2021. This substantial capital infusion reflects strong investor confidence in the company's business model, growth potential, and market opportunities. The funding enables strategic expansion, product development, market penetration, and operational scaling to drive long-term value creation and competitive advantage.
- Total Funding $23.68M
- Total Rounds 3
- Last Round Series A — $19M
- First Round $1M
(Feb 2017)
- Investors Count 6
All 3 funding rounds of OpenReel with amounts and investors; the two latest post-money valuations are shown, the rest are part of the premium plan.
| Date | Amount | Transaction Name | Valuation | Lead Investors | Investors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 2021 | $19M | Series A | – | Five Elms Capital | |
| Nov 2019 | $3.68M | Series A | – | – | – |
| Feb 2017 | $1M | Seed | – | – |
7 investors in total: 7 institutional.
Investors in OpenReel
OpenReel has secured backing from 7 investors, including venture fund and institutional investors. Prominent investors backing the company include Banzai, Five Elms Capital and Las Olas.
| Investor | Description | Founded Year | Domain | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
B2B software companies are targeted for PE and growth-equity investments. | fiveelms.com | Kansas City, United States | ||
Early-stage investments in US tech and life sciences are targeted. | lasolasvc.com | Fort Lauderdale, United States | ||
Investments are made in early-stage US tech companies. | alpinemeridian.com | New York, United States | ||
Seed-stage VC micro firm investing in the US | brooklynbridge.vc | Brooklyn, United States | ||
Seed and early-stage investments are targeted by the VC firm. | forefrontvp.com | Boca Raton, United States | ||
Digital agency providing content strategy, engagement tools, and monetization for associations. | 2005 | workerbee.tv | Winnipeg, Canada | |
On-demand SDRs are supplied to businesses through a CRM-integrated platform. | 2015 | banzai.io | Seattle, United States |
Investor details for OpenReel
The complete investor list, round-by-round participation and investor portfolios require an active premium plan.
- Complete investor list
- Round participation
- Investor portfolios
- Co-investor network
Verified entity values are shown only after access is granted.
People of OpenReel
12 people are tracked at OpenReel (6 in leadership, 6 in team).
| Name | Role | Group |
|---|---|---|
Shijo Joe Mathew | Co-Founder | Leadership |
Lee Firestone | Co-Founder & CEO | Leadership |
Tim Freeman | Director, Development & IT Operations | Leadership |
Joe Mathew | CTO & Co-founder | Leadership |
Shannon Mulligan | Remote Video Support Technician & Technical Director | Leadership |
Fady Ghatas | Director Of Engineering | Leadership |
Ali Rashidov | Full Stack Developer | Team |
Shalva Jashiashvili | Full Stack Engineer | Team |
Razvan Mitre | Full Stack Engineer | Team |
Miho Krušić | Lead Software Engineer | Team |
Erica Manganaro | Operations Manager | Team |
Arthur Scott | Customer Support Team Lead | Team |
Complete people profiles for OpenReel
Full employee and board profiles, team structure, tenure and professional contact details require an active premium plan.
- Full employee list
- Team structure
- Board tenure
- Professional contacts
Verified entity values are shown only after access is granted.
Timeline of OpenReel
4 dated milestones of OpenReel across 8 years, from founding to its latest funding, stage changes and deals.
- Founded OpenReel is founded.
- Funding First funding round of $1.0M.
- Funding Latest funding round, Series A, of $19.0M.
- Exit Acquired by Banzai.
Competitors of OpenReel
OpenReel has 3 listed competitors in our database, 2 of them funded. They include Kaltura, VBrick Systems and Kollective.
| Company Name | Domain | Founded | HQ Location | Total funding | Employees | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| kaltura.com | 2006 | New York, United States | 580 | Offers cloud-based video solutions tailored for the media and entertainment industry. | ||
| vbrick.com | 1998 | Herndon, United States | $48.5M | 91 | Video over IP solutions are delivered for enterprise media distribution. | |
| kollective.com | 2001 | Bend, United States | $53.52M | 77 | Cloud-based CDN solutions are delivered for enterprise video content. |
Detailed competitors of OpenReel
The full competitor set, operating metrics and side-by-side benchmarks require an active premium plan.
- Full competitor set
- Operating metrics
- Benchmarks
- Competitive positioning
Verified entity values are shown only after access is granted.
Web traffic of OpenReel
The website of OpenReel (openreel.com) receives about 3.9K visits a month.
- Monthly visits3.9K
▼ 53.1% vs previous month
Websites whose visitors overlap most with OpenReel. Affinity shows how closely the audiences match.
| Website | Domain | Audience affinity | Monthly visits | Global rank | Profile |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
dubb.com | dubb.com | 100% | #262,723 | – | |
booklaunchers.com | booklaunchers.com | 84% | #1,598,104 | – | |
| octa.net | 84% | 287.3K | #147,938 | View details | |
| watershed.com | 84% | 146.3K | #348,408 | View details |
Top companies in Video Creation Tools
3 companies that operate in the same segment as OpenReel (Video Creation Tools) in United States, ranked by their profile score on The Company Check.
| Company | Description | Founded | Location | Total funding | Revenue | Employees |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
AI-powered tools for video creation from text prompts are offered. | 2017 | San Francisco, California, United States | USD 57.66 M | |||
AI-powered editing for photos and videos with captioning is provided. | 2021 | Boston, Massachusetts, United States | USD 85 M | |||
Personalized interactive video solutions are delivered for marketing platforms. | 2007 | New York, New York, United States | USD 67.1 M |
Unlock complete access to The Company Check
Get unrestricted viewing across everything we track — from companies and brands to investors, funding rounds, acquisitions, financials, and more.
- Unlimited viewing on all profiles Companies, investors, financials, funding, acquisitions & directors
- Full access to every database India & global coverage, advanced filters and rich profile details
- Always-on access from your team account Single premium plan for everything you see on the portal
Related news about Openreel
Complete news archive for OpenReel
Full article history, source details, and older brand coverage require an active premium plan.
- Full article archive
- Source and publication date
- Older coverage
- Brand-specific news history
Verified entity values are shown only after access is granted.
Frequently Asked Questions about OpenReel
OpenReel was founded in 2016 and raised its 1st funding round 1 year after it was founded.
OpenReel is headquartered in New York, United States. It is registered at New York, New York, United States.
Lee Firestone is the CEO of OpenReel, as recorded in our data. They have also founded this company.
OpenReel is a funded company, having raised a total of $23.68M across 3 funding rounds to date. The company's 1st funding round was a Seed of $1M, raised on Feb 2017.
OpenReel was founded in 2016 in New York, United States, as a provider in the video technology sector. A platform for remote video capture and AI-assisted editing is offered, enabling high-quality recordings on various devices. Secure cloud storage and customizable templates are included to support video creation. Operations focus on simplifying production processes for users across geographies. Co-founders Shijo Joe Mathew and Lee Firestone lead the company.
OpenReel's top competitors include VBrick Systems, Kollective and Kaltura.
OpenReel has 7 investors. Key investors include Banzai, Five Elms Capital, Las Olas, Alpine Meridian, and Brooklyn Bridge Ventures.
Yes. OpenReel was acquired by Banzai in December 2024.