Layer3 TV, the startup backed by industry vets that is developing a “next generation cable company,” announced Wednesday it will make Denver its new headquarters, but will maintain its office presence in Boston.
The startup didn’t reveal the address it will move into this summer, but it will be located in Denver’s hip LoDo area, close to Union Station, Layer3 TV CEO Jeff Binder said.
According to the company, it has already hired a “significant number of Colorado employees,” and expects to offer 312 new jobs in the area, paying an average wage of $92,083. In support of the expansion and corporate relocation, the state of Colorado awarded Layer3 TV $2.9 million in job growth incentive tax credits and workforce development and technical assistance.
Layer3 TV, founded in 2013, won’t say how many people are already on board, but it’s “more than 20 people and less than 50 people,” according to Binder, with a “good amount” based in its Boston location, which will focus on product development.
Layer3 TV’s jobs page currently lists seven openings in Denver, and ten in Boston.
While Boston is a tech innovation hub in its own right, Denver does give Level3 TV access to a region that is rich in cable industry services and engineering experience.
“Layer3 TV is excited to open our corporate headquarters in Denver and to become part of the thriving Colorado eco-system of innovators in both telecommunications and entertainment,” said Binder said, in a statement. “We look forward to benefiting from the tremendous talent pool here and becoming a contributor to the Colorado economy.”
Area politicos praised Layer3 TV’s decision.
“With an energy of entrepreneurialism and ingenuity pulsating through the city, the addition of Layer3 TV to Denver is proof of how we are becoming the startup and small business capital of the country,” Denver Mayor Michael Hancock said, in a statement.
"Layer3 TV's decision to move its headquarters to LoDo is the latest in a growing trend of innovative start-ups that have chosen Colorado as the best place to expand their business,” added Governor John Hickenlooper. “Our entrepreneurial and highly educated workforce and innovative business climate entices exciting companies like Layer3 TV to move here.”
Layer3 TV, which has raised $21 million so far, has been coy about its product plans and how much of its strategy will hinge on forging partnerships with traditional cable operators, though it has noted that it will focus on the development of multiscreen, IP-delivered video services that are friendly to traditional pay-TV business models.
But it's not yet clear if Layer3 TV's approach will be similar to that of WebTuner, a Redmond, Wash.-based startup run by a group of cable and video tech vets. WebTuner, which has raised $12 million, is building what it is calling a "virtual MVPD service" and intends to partner up and integrate with large and small multichannel video programming distributors, including incumbent MSOs.
