Hearo.Live

Hearo.Live operates a platform designed to make watching media a social, interactive experience. The company was founded in 2017 by CEO Edward "Ned" Lerner, a serial entrepreneur with a deep background in the video game industry. His journey includes developing the game that Electronic Arts based its IPO on and working at Sony PlayStation for over a decade, where he was involved with the successful PS4 console. This experience in multiplayer gaming, particularly with his previous startup Multitude which created an early multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) and a voice chat service, directly inspired the concept for Hearo.Live. Lerner envisioned bringing the same real-time social interaction common in gaming to the typically solitary activity of watching shows and live events.

The company's core product is a cross-platform application available on iOS, Android, macOS, and Windows that allows users to co-watch a wide variety of content in full-screen while voice-chatting with friends and family. The platform synchronizes playback from over 50 streaming services, including major players like Netflix, Disney+, and ESPN, effectively creating a shared virtual couch. Hearo's proprietary technology, which it calls "Multiplayer TV," is engineered to support numerous small, private voice chat groups within a larger audience, allowing for conversation without disrupting everyone. This setup aims to transform passive viewing into an engaging, front-row experience for everything from movies to live sports and esports.

Hearo.Live's business model appears to operate on a "Venue as a Service" (VaaS) concept, partnering with media rights holders and community leaders to create branded virtual venues. The company generates revenue through these partnerships and was developing a premium subscription tier, "Super Hearo," planned to include features like video avatars. In 2021, it secured a $50,000 contract with the U.S. Air Force to create a virtual hub for its esports division. The firm has raised a total of $2.1M in funding over multiple rounds from investors including 500 Global and several angel investors. However, some sources indicate that as of August 2023, the company is out of business.

Keywords: co-watching, watch party, social viewing, live events, streaming media, multiplayer TV, virtual couch, interactive media, esports engagement, Edward Lerner, social streaming, VaaS, Venue as a Service, 500 Startups, cross-platform app, real-time chat, synchronized video, digital events, community viewing, media engagement platform