MTI goes for new image

MTI, the UK-based early stage technology venture capital investor, has completed an investment of GBP2.5 million in iBase Image Systems (iBase). The transaction involves an initial GBP1 million, followed by a further

GBP1.5 million over the next 12 months. The capital will be used to fund iBase’s expansion.

iBase, headquartered in Ilkley, West Yorkshire, has developed a technology which facilitates storage and database management of high definition digital images including sound, moving images, portable document files and other digital objects, together with related information. It is a rapidly developing area of technology that addresses an organisation’s need to store a variety of graphic information in a form that allows rapid retrieval on a worldwide basis.

iBase offers solutions to a client base including the British Library, the Guildhall Library and Art Gallery, and the Natural History Museum, which use technology to electronically archive pictures, maps and documents, as well as large corporations such as the Wellcome Trust, Christies International, Mercury One2One and the Ove Arup Partnership.

The need for fast access to large databases of digital objects and information via intranet and internet is making digital image management technology one of the fastest growing IT sectors. With this in mind, iBase is now expanding into solutions for e-commerce, pre-press’ printing, engineering design, medical imaging and other commercial applications.