Realtime raises $100M to usher in the era of real-time Internet

Realtime launched in the US today and announced a $100 million investment to help the world transition from static to live web.

Based in Brazil, Realtime has developed technology that enables the Internet to update instantaneously and continuously. Rather than a request-and-response protocol, Realtime is powered by  Open Real Time Connectivity. With ORTC,  applications can update directly from the server to the connected user without manually refreshing the page.

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By being able to observe user activity while it is actually occurring, the people behind the app can gain greater insight into how people engage with their product and capitalize on of-the-moment opportunities.

CEo Andre Parreira believes Realtime could usher in the next era of the Internet, creating a web that is completely fluid and dynamic.

“Our vision of the new web and the modern Internet is that it will be built on top of real-time messaging,” he said. “We could be the real-time web standard, and there is unlimited scaleability. There is a worldwide opportunity to create this product and this industry”

Realtime is built on top of the server and can be easily integrated into applications of all sizes. It accommodates a wide range of web and mobile languages and can be implemented simply by adding a small amount of code to a web page.

The company also provides unique tool sets, so each sector can leverage the technology to best serve its goals. “There will be a huge push for our technology because businesses will want to know where the eyeballs of the users are on the website,” Parreira said. “Clicks are not enough. Real-time messaging will create platforms to help companies round the world deliver their products to the customers and get more value.”

For example, online retailers can push incentives for their products while customers are in the midst of shopping, and advertisers can track how long people are in front of their ads.

Since its beta release, Realtime has reached 120 million users worldwide, which translates into delivering 750,000 messages per second. With this investment, Realtime intends to create a need on the market for the product. While the technology is powerful, it is not yet the norm, and thus marketing and scaling will be key for sustainable growth.

Brazil’s tech scene is flourishing, and Parreira said there was great excitement and national pride about Brazilian investment in a Brazilian company. BRZTech Holding, the São Paulo-based technology investment that led this round, is just three months old

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Realtime started in Portugal in 1997 under the name Internet Business Technologies. It has offices in Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, London, Madrid, Lisbon, and most recently, offices in Santa Monica and New York.