Medal, known for its popular video game clipping product, has recently raised $13 million at a valuation of $333 million. This funding round, led by investors including Horizons Ventures, OMERS Ventures, Peak6, and Arcadia Investment Partners, will fuel the development of Medal’s new cross-platform desktop app, Highlight. This innovative app functions as a contextual AI assistant, designed to capture screen content and provide contextual insights through large language models (LLMs).
Medal’s core technology, originally used for clipping video game moments, has evolved. Henry Gladwyn, a partner at OMERS Ventures, emphasized that Medal’s technology can understand on-screen activities and apply this context to LLMs for intelligent prompting. This evolution marks Medal’s transition from a gaming-focused company to a broader tech entity, aiming to capture and enhance users’ virtual experiences.
Highlight operates as a floating button on the desktop. When users hover over the icon, the app captures the current screen content and uses it to provide contextual assistance through various AI models like ChatGPT, Anthropic’s Claude, and Perplexity. The app suggests pre-populated questions to help users get started, and all content capture happens locally without storing any data.
Highlight also allows users to pass documents and system audio memory as context, expanding its utility. The company is developing a local transcription app for meetings, similar to tools like Granola, Limitless, and Krisp, to leverage this feature.
Development and Vision
Pim de Witte, Medal’s co-founder, shared that the company began exploring the integration of its clipping technology with AI last year. The goal is to provide an open platform that connects users with various AI assistants, models, and interfaces. De Witte aims to make Highlight accessible to users of all ages and technological backgrounds, hence the app’s design to show contextual prompt suggestions based on captured content.
Highlight is also set to become a platform for developers to deploy their own apps. This approach is akin to the Raycast launcher app for Mac, but Highlight will be available on both Mac and Windows. This independence from any single ecosystem gives Highlight a unique advantage, according to OMERS Ventures’ Gladwyn.
Future Plans
While Medal.tv will continue to receive support and new features, the company will allocate resources to further develop Highlight. Currently free, Highlight plans to monetize through an app store model and potentially offer a premium subscription for additional features, including local-first models.
To foster an app ecosystem, Medal is distributing grants of up to $30,000 to developers, who will also receive support from the Highlight team. This initiative aims to encourage the creation of diverse and innovative applications on the Highlight platform.
Medal’s $13 million funding round marks a significant step in the company’s evolution from a gaming clip service to a broader tech company with its contextual AI assistant, Highlight. By leveraging its core technology in new ways and providing an open platform for developers, Medal aims to enhance users’ digital experiences across various contexts, making AI assistance more accessible and integrated into everyday desktop use.
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