Owl Labs

Founded in 2014 by Mark Schnittman and Max Makeev, Owl Labs develops video technology to create inclusive and immersive video experiences for remote collaboration in the business, education, healthcare, and legal sectors. The company’s flagship product, Meeting Owl—which consists of a 360-degree camera, mic, speaker, and proprietary artificial intelligence technology—was used by 100,000 organizations and more than 2,000 schools and universities as of June 2022.

In March 2021, Owl Labs introduced a new suite of features leveraging Meeting Owl to support remote and hybrid learning. The new features are Owl Connect, which allows educators to expand the video and audio reach in classrooms by pairing two Meeting Owl Pros together; Presenter Enhance, which adapts to the presenter faster and tracks the room differently with video following the presenter’s movement and audio following the discussion; and Digital Whiteboard, which allows virtual whiteboards to be viewed remotely. Additionally, Owl Labs has updated its in-device features with new functions, such as 360-degree panoramic controls, vertical flip, the ability to lock the camera on a whiteboard or presenter, and a passcode lock to prevent misuse by students. More recently, in June 2022, the company updated its in-device features with enhanced facial recognition, 4x faster detection, expanded audio range and compatibility, and enterprise IT support.

Key customers and partnerships 

In September 2022, the company partnered with BlueJeans by Verizon, an interoperable cloud-based video conferencing service provider, to offer a bundle subscription service by combining its technology with BlueJeans Meetings video conferencing software licenses.

Funding and financials

In November 2022, the company raised USD 25 million in a Series C funding round led by HP Tech Ventures. It planned to use the funds to expand the global adoption of its products and continue product development. Additionally, it sought to broaden Owl Labs' reach internationally and strengthen its go-to-market alliances beginning with a business arrangement between Owl Labs and HP France under which HP would market and sell Owl Labs' products domestically. Since its founding, the company's revenue has increased more than threefold year-over-year and it has increased sevenfold since the pandemic started.