Strada Receives Strategic Investment From OWC to Accelerate Cloud-Free Collaboration

Industry News

by Nino LeitnerDecember 15^th, 2025

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Strada, the peer-to-peer collaboration platform from Michael and Peter Cioni, has secured a significant strategic investment from Other World Computing (OWC). The partnership aims to accelerate Strada’s product roadmap while combining the startup’s cloud-free file sharing technology with OWC’s extensive hardware ecosystem.

The investment marks a milestone in Strada’s ongoing fundraising efforts and signals growing industry interest in alternatives to traditional cloud-based workflows. For video professionals tired of expensive storage subscriptions and lengthy upload times, the combination of Strada’s software with OWC’s storage solutions could present a compelling proposition.

What is Strada?

For those unfamiliar with the platform, Strada is a Los Angeles-based software startup that enables video content professionals to access, share, and review large video files stored on local drives anywhere in the world without uploading anything to the cloud. The company was founded in 2023 by brothers Michael Cioni (formerly Frame.io/Adobe) and Peter Cioni (ex-Netflix), both veterans of the Hollywood tech space.

The platform’s patent-pending peer-to-peer technology essentially turns any local storage device into a globally accessible hub. As we covered at Cine Gear earlier this year, the system can stream 4K ProRes files over relatively modest internet connections by using Apple Silicon’s processing power to compress files in real-time, delivering streams in approximately 200 milliseconds while maintaining quality. Unlike traditional cloud services that charge for storage, bandwidth, and per-user access, Strada’s basic functionality is free with no storage fees, no limits on collaborators, and no file size restrictions.

Since launching publicly in April 2025, Strada has launched Strada Agents and also expanded to mobile platforms with Strada Mobile now available on iOS and Android.

Why OWC?

Other World Computing, founded in 1988 by Larry O’Connor, has built its reputation on high-performance storage, memory, connectivity solutions, and accessories specifically designed for media and entertainment professionals. The company, which won our CineD Best of Show Award for Storage Innovation at IBC2024 for the Envoy Ultra Thunderbolt 5 SSD, has positioned itself as a partner for creative professionals from capture through to completion.

The synergy between the two companies seems natural. Strada’s technology works by making local storage devices accessible remotely, and OWC manufactures exactly those kinds of storage solutions. The partnership essentially creates a potential end-to-end ecosystem: OWC hardware for storing footage, Strada software for sharing it globally without cloud overhead.

Michael Cioni emphasized this alignment: “We want to help video production teams understand they no longer need to rely on expensive and energy consuming cloud subscriptions in order to collaborate with their remote colleagues. As we continue to expand the Strada network around the world, OWC is a perfect partner because they understand the needs of remote video production teams and build solutions for every budget, every workflow, on every platform.”

What the investment means

Larry O’Connor, OWC’s founder and CEO, expressed strong confidence in Strada’s approach: “In my nearly 40-year career running OWC, I have seen numerous innovations that improve video content production workflows. What Strada has built is revolutionary: their peer-to-peer technology is so powerful, I believe it has the potential to disrupt more costly, less beneficial ‘existing status quos’.”

Beyond the capital injection, the partnership includes several practical initiatives. Over the coming months, OWC and Strada will launch co-marketing campaigns including events and social media collaboration. Both companies plan to offer special incentives to customers who purchase combined OWC and Strada product packages. Perhaps most notably, the two companies will share a booth at NAB 2026.

Looking ahead

The investment comes at an interesting time for cloud-based media workflows. While traditional cloud services have become deeply embedded in professional production pipelines, the costs associated with storing and transferring large video files continue to climb. For productions dealing with 8K footage, RAW workflows, or simply large volumes of content, cloud storage and bandwidth expenses can become significant line items.

Strada’s model sidesteps these costs by keeping files on local storage while enabling remote access. Combined with OWC’s hardware, the partnership could offer a compelling alternative for teams looking to reduce their cloud dependencies.

What do you think about the growing push toward cloud-free collaboration workflows? Could partnerships like this change how your team handles remote file access? Don’t hesitate to let us know in the comments below!