Microsoft is acquiring Clipchamp, a Brisbane, Australia-based startup that makes a video creation and editing platform, the companies announced Tuesday.
Terms of the deal were not shared, but Chris Pratley, corporate vice president for Microsoft’s Office Media Group, wrote in a blog post that he was “bubbling over with excitement.”
“Small business owners, marketers, influencers, students, educators, families, and information workers of all types need the capability to make great videos with minimal effort.,” Pratley wrote. “Whether it’s a 10-second social media ad, a 2-minute pitch for a product, or a 20-minute instructional video, Clipchamp and Microsoft will provide the tools and experience you need.”
Founded in 2014 by former SAP employees, Clipchamp has 17 million users who create videos using in-browser tools. The 90-person company has enterprise customers such as Microsoft, Google and Deloitte, and in April 2020 announced plans for its first U.S. office, in Seattle.
The startup saw massive growth during the COVID-19 pandemic, with a 54% year-over-year surge in users as remote work created a greater need for video content such as trainings, town hall addresses and other corporate communications.
In its own post about the acquisition, Clipchamp said “few companies in tech have the legacy and reach that Microsoft has.”
“We all grew up with iconic Microsoft products and have been using them ever since. Becoming part of Microsoft allows us to become part of a future legacy. Under no other scenario could our future look more exciting than what’s ahead of us now,” the company said.
Seattle-based venture capital firm Tola Capital led a $9 million Series A round for Clipchamp in February 2020.
Aaron Fleishman, a partner at Tola Capital for six years and a board director at Clipchamp for almost two years, was previously corporate strategy and M&A manager at Microsoft. In a LinkedIn post on Tuesday, Fleishman called the acquisition a “thrilling outcome” for Clipchamp’s co-founders and leaders.
“Unlike traditional, complex video editing tools, Clipchamp offers a new paradigm of video editing that is rich with features to create high impact videos within minutes, while also easy enough for anyone to adopt and use it,” Fleishman said in 2020 after Tola’s investment.
