Lifesize

Company history

Lifesize was founded by Craig Malloy and Michael Kenoyer in January 2003. It operated in “stealth mode” under the name KMV Technologies from 2003 to 2005. Investors in Lifesize included Redpoint Ventures, Sutter Hill Ventures, Pinnacle Ventures, Norwest Venture Partners and Tenaya Capital. The company name change to Lifesize Communications was unveiled at the Interop trade show in Las Vegas, Nevada in May 2005. This is also when Lifesize announced its first product, Lifesize Room, which was the first high definition video conferencing endpoint brought to market.

Craig Malloy was a product manager at VTEL Corporation in Austin until 1996, when he left and founded ViaVideo. ViaVideo was acquired by Polycom in 1998. Malloy was the senior vice president and general manager of the Video Communication Division of Polycom through 2002, when he left to found his own high definition video telecommunications company.

In 2009, Logitech acquired Lifesize for US$405 million in cash. Lifesize then became "Lifesize, a division of Logitech," but continued to operate as a separate division led by Craig Malloy as its Chief Executive Officer.

Malloy served as the Lifesize CEO from 2003 – 2012, and resumed the role in February 2014.

In January 2016, Lifesize announced it was splitting from Logitech and continuing as an independent firm.

Technology

Lifesize is a Video Conferencing and Collaboration business, based in Austin, Texas, that provides technology for face-to-face communications, including high definition videoconferencing, sometimes known as telepresence. Well known for its history of innovation, Lifesize was the first video conferencing company to bring high definition video communication technology to market in 2005. Additionally, Lifesize has become known for a number of other “firsts” including the first HD video system for under $5,000 and $2,500, first one-button HD streaming and recording solution, first integrated virtualized video infrastructure platform, first touch screen phone optimized for video collaboration, and first all-in-one video conferencing solution assembled in minutes.

In 2014, Lifesize introduced Lifesize Cloud, a SaaS video conferencing solution that allows users to participate in a video call from their desktop, laptop, smartphone, tablet or conference room. Lifesize Cloud provides a connected experience by enabling users to make video calls using their device of choice or any video-enabled conference room, and participate in both ad-hoc or scheduled calls.

To keep in line with expectations within the fast growing cloud communications market, The Lifesize Cloud is updated every 3 weeks to include new features and functionality. The last handful of updates have included improvements to WebRTC compatibility and user portals for usage and statistics. In March 2016, the Cloud platform has expanded to include Group Chat functionality

Lifesize product portfolio includes high definition endpoints and accessories, NATirewall traversal, touchscreen conference room phones, ISDN gateways, Multipoint Control Units and management systems, as well as mobile video conferencing software and a cloud-based IaaS offering for video conferencing. Lifesize also offers a recording and sharing service called Lifesize Cloud Amplify. In 2016, Lifesize brought new huddle room systems to the market with Smartframing camera technology embedded.

Lifesize has partnered with various other technology companies, including Alcatel-Lucent, Avaya, Inc., Microsoft, ShoreTel, Inc., VMware and VBrick Systems.

Customers

Lifesize video conferencing solutions are used by a wide array of customers, from the largest of enterprises down to small businesses, and across several industries (education, financial services, manufacturing, design, government, technology, retail, health care, construction, real estate, public utilities, legal services, arts organizations, nonprofits, transportation, media and entertainment).

Some Lifesize customers are: