Content delivery network company Instart Logic today received $26 million in Series C funding from KPCB, Andreessen Horowitz, Greylock Partners, Sutter Hill Ventures and Tenaya Capital. The Series C is in addition to $17 million the company raised in earlier rounds. Instart Logic is developing a new way of dealing with the Content Delivery Network concept.
Generally, companies build out a number of data centers around the world and move content to the server closest to the person requesting it. Instart Logic algorithmically detects which parts of a website users are most likely to click on first and loads those parts the fastest, explained Matt Murphy, a partner at KPCB.
As Murphy explained, on the internet every second counts, and it can literally cost you money for every second you delay. And it’s worse on mobile, Murphy notes, because cell phone networks tend to have slower connections and have other issues to deal with that could cause an even bigger delay.
“Performance is the new gold on the web, based on how much performance [improvement] can lead to revenue. Anyone who can solve these problems, they’re going to do well,” Murphy says.
As the software concentrates on loading the most important parts of the page, other parts are loading slower in the background. Murphy said that the software loads these slower parts quickly enough that the user wouldn’t notice. They might not load every pixel in an image, he says, but enough so that it looks fine to the eye of the user loading the page — and that little bit of extra time can mean a lot, he explains.
Instart Logic can analyze how people use a site, and even before the sale, show speed improvements based on an initial study of a particular website. Murphy said this can help push the product to buyers who can see a noticeable improvement, but he says it doesn’t stop there. “Machine learning gets smarter and smarter and detects usage patterns and that might change over time,” he added.
In other words, even as content and user behavior change, the software is smart enough to detect that and adjust accordingly.
The company claims the customer base has grown by more than 500 percent over the last year and includes companies such as One Kings Lane, Volcom, Washington Post, Wine.com and Omni Hotels. When asked to elaborate on the growth numbers beyond a percentage, they would not supply any additional information.
PHOTO BY FLICKR USER HENRIK BENNETSEN. USED UNDER CC BY 2.0-SA LICENSE.
