Ustream gets $6M funding, on the hunt for new CEO

Live video streaming pioneer Ustream is going through some pretty major changes, the San Francisco-based company said Friday.

First of all, Ustream has landed $ 6 million in fresh funding from two existing investors, DCM and Softbank. This adds onto the $ 10 million Ustream garnered last month from Korea Telecom to establish a joint venture in Seoul. But relatively, the new $ 6 million is a drop in the bucket for the company, which to date has raised more than $ 100 million in venture capital.

Ustream co-founder John Ham has left the CEO post

Secondly, Ustream co-founder John Ham has stepped down from his role as CEO of the company. In a press release, Ustream indicated Ham is leaving to “return to his entrepreneurial roots” — and TechCrunch reported earlier today that he is soon to launch a new startup. Ham will continue to serve as Ustream’s chairman.

That means that Ustream is currently on the hunt for a new CEO. Ustream co-founder Brad Hunstable will occupy the CEO position on an interim basis as the executive search is conducted, the company says.

At five years old, Ustream is practically an old-timer in the world of online video, so the company is ripe for a shakeup of some sort. Hunstable said in a recent interview with GigaOM’s Ryan Lawler that Ustream is aware of mounting competition from both fledgling startups as well as tech industry giants such as YouTube, saying, “We know what everyone’s doing because, you know, only the paranoid survive. But you can’t be frozen by fear.” The executive level shuffling shows that Ustream is indeed not afraid to change — how it will all work out for the company, of course, remains to be seen.

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