Linius Technology offers new stream of thought for video ads

Linius Technology has just started life on the ASX, and Chris Richardson has already mapped out its next move.

Linius CEO Christopher Richardson.

Linius Technology, a company aiming to enhance the DNA of internet video, has started life on the ASX and, with the first day of trading under its belt, chief executive Chris Richardson is acutely aware of what needs to happen next.

Linius has raised $3.5 million as part of the reverse takeover of Firestrike Resources, with the successful issue of 70 million new shares at 5c each. The company’s shares closed the session at 6c and, according to Mr Richardson, it’s a start the company is hoping to build on.

Linius’s core product is its patented video virtualisation engine, which it says has the potential to completely rewrite how cable companies look to make money from video ad traffic.

The basic premise behind Linius’s complex technology is relatively simple. It doesn’t treat video as video but rather as data.

“You think about Foxtel,” Mr Richardson said. “Most of us in a single point of presence are seeing the same ads. If you jump on YouTube you and your neighbour may watch the same show, but you will have different ads served to you.

“In YouTube the ads and the content are different streams, but on TV it’s all in the one stream.”

According to Mr Richardson, treating video as data allows a host of management and personalisation options to come into the ­picture.

“Instead of pre-creating a video with an ad in the middle of it, we can create a scenario were the first 10 minutes of Top Gear can go to all the homes, but send a Rolex ad to a particular viewer who likes watches,” Mr Richardson said.

“So every viewer gets a unique stream and we can do that without overloading the point of presence with a thousand copies of all the different ads.”

It’s about bringing the personalised dynamic of the internet age into the world of linear television, but the technology extends beyond advertising. The software can be put anywhere in the video value chain, from content delivery to digital rights management. Linius does not generate revenue, so its future depends on the quality of the partnerships it can strike and proving the potential of its patented technology.

The company has entered an evaluation and limited deployment agreement with international media group Digisoft.tv, which may not be a household name but has a presence in the telecommunications sector. Linius is developing formidable technology but getting the average retail investor interested is going to be challenge until the company’s technology passes the screen test.