Interactive video firm Rapt Media scores another $3.1M as it eyes NY and LA expansion

Rapt Media, a company devoted to interactive video technology, is gearing up to make a bigger splash on both coasts.

The company today announced that it has received an additional $3.1 million in funding led by Boulder Ventures, which it will use to expand its presence in New York City and Los Angeles. The company, which was originally known as Flixmaster, rebranded last year and has now received more than $7.5 million in funding.

Erika Trautman, Rapt Media’s co-founder and CEO, tells me the company wasn’t really looking to raise funding right now. Its business is growing steadily, with an “order of magnitude more customers” in the second quarter, and companies are beginning to realize how interact videos could help their business. Cinemax, for example, used Rapt’s technology to create an interactive, Flash-like website for its TV series Banshee.

But, as is usual, more funding offers a quicker path to growth. Trautman says the investment will specifically let Boulder-based Rapt build up its sales and business presence in NYC and LA.

“We’ve got customers in LA, I spend a lot of time in LA, it’s hit the point where it absolutely makes sense to have a physical presence on the ground,” Trautman said.

Rapt is also unveiling its integration with Oracle’s Eloqua marketing automation technology, which opens up entirely new uses for its interactive video platform. For example, marketing agency Room 214 used Rapt’s technology for one of its clients, call center technology company InContact, to track the choices potential customers make and deliver personalized content.

Looking ahead, Trautman says Rapt will soon have some major new customers to announce, and it’s gearing up for even more platform upgrades later this year.