Bela Hatvany
Director @ MediaSilo
Toulon, France
Bela Hatvany is a seed investor at MediaSilo in Toulon focused on Legal and Legal Tech. Béla Hatvany is a pioneer in the automation of libraries and the information industry. Companies founded by him have been responsible for the first Online Public Access Catalog (OPAC), the first CD-ROMs, the first networked CD-ROM, the first client-server library databases, and some of the earliest internet library database retrieval engines. Inaddition he was a key investor in the first streaming music databases for libraries (Classical.com), Credo Reference and JustGiving. He is recognized as a visionary in library information.He was born in 1938. His father was a Hungarian Jew, his mother Spanish. They emigrated to England where Béla spent his childhood. He received a scholarship to attend University of St Andrews from BP. In 1956 he began his career as a customer service engineer, a computer programmer and a salesman.In 1965, he moved to the United States to get an MBA at Harvard University. He founded his first company, COMSISA in Mexico City in 1968. It served sugar mills and local businesses.In 1971, in partnership with Dennis Beaumont, Computer Library Services (CLSI) was started in Boston. This was the first company to develop the minicomputer for use in libraries, in effect building the Online Public Access Computer (OPAC) market. Hatvany then went on and sold it to Thyssen Bornemisza in 1985 and returned to live in London.In the early 80s, along with Henry Ng, he invented an early version of the touch screen which is now used in many table and other computer devices.In 1983, he started a small organization that became SilverPlatter Information Ltd. The company published the first CD-ROMs in 1984. The company thrived developing a number of innovative products including networked CD-ROM, client-server delivery for bibliographic databases and was one of the first companies to deliver databases on the internet. In 2001 it was sold to Wolters-Kluwer for $113 million.Since then Béla has invested in a number of early-stage, internet-based companies including Classical.com, JustGiving, Credo Reference, Productorial, Mustardseed Charitable Trust and Coreweb.In 1987, Hatvany received the LITA/Gaylord Award for Achievement in Library and Information Technology. In 1991, he received the Entrepreneurial Excellence Award from the Optical Publishing Association. In 2000, the National Federation of Advanced Information Services (NFAIS) honored him with the Miles Conrad Award for his outstanding contribution to the information industry.In 2013, Hatvany announced an alliance where organizations, individuals, businesses and entrepreneurs can join to collaborate, share information and experience. Named 'The Bela Initiative', its purpose is to give and to receive in ways that empower oneself or others to develop a clear purpose to serve the whole – in short to enable a world that works for everyone.Béla has been married since 1964 to Ellen and has six children and seven grandchildren.
- Total investments:
- 1
- Last investment:
- Lead investor:
- 0%
Last updated:
For AI agents: llms.txt
Industries Bela Hatvany invests in
Stages Bela Hatvany invests in
Countries Bela Hatvany invests in
Contacts
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Investment Focus
Industry
- Legal 1 (100%)
- Legal Tech 1 (100%)
- Crowdfunding 1 (100%)
Investments
| Company | Description | Round | Links |
|---|---|---|---|
CrowdJustice
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CrowdJustice allows communities to band together to access the courts to protect their communal assets – like their local hospital – or shared values – like human rights. CrowdJustice pages are optimized to collect as many pledges as possible. Millions of pounds have already been raised through CrowdJustice to fund various kinds of legal action. | $2M / Seed / May 30, 2017 |
Co-Investors
About MediaSilo
When video workflows operate like a well-oiled machine, teams can stop worrying about security and focus on producing better content, faster and more efficiently. MediaSilo is a video management platform for distributed media production teams that need to manage, share and approve content safely and easily. The Boston, MA-based company works withmedia companies, advertising agencies and content creators to provide lightweight SaaS software that sits in the middle of video lifecycles, working with existing tools and workflows to keep teams connected, assets secure and stories beautifully and seamlessly presented.With 550+ customers, 100k+ monthly users and 10M+ assets managed, MediaSilo continues to innovate and provide solutions that span media, entertainment and enterprise video, with a focus on security. Most recently, MediaSilo launched SafeStream, an on-demand watermarking technology that acts as a visual deterrant to piracy. Each watermarked video is created in real-time and is personalized to the person requesting or viewing the asset. Because the customized watermark is inserted in near real-time (less than a 20-second delay) – even for a 90-minute video – the speed and cost-effectiveness of SafeStream is unheard of the industry, and is not interruptive to the viewing experience. The content owner remains in complete control of where and how the watermark appears on the video. It can be incorporated directly into workflows so it can be easily used to protect dailies and rough cuts in addition to finished content.
MediaSilo Contacts
| Name | Phone | Socials | |
|---|---|---|---|
Alex Nauda
Senior Developer
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Bela Hatvany
Director
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Dina Pradel
VP, Marketing
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Kai Pradel
CEO, Founder & Chief Technical Officer
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Matthew Thomas
Head of Sales
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FAQ
What does Bela Hatvany invest in?
Bela Hatvany invests primarily in Legal, Legal Tech and Crowdfunding startups, most often at Seed stage. Most of the 1 investments tracked by Shizune back companies in United States. The Investment Focus section breaks down every industry, stage and country in the portfolio.
How do I contact Bela Hatvany?
Public channels for Bela Hatvany include LinkedIn and X (Twitter). For a verified work email and phone number, create a free Shizune account — contact data is searched across 20+ sources and validated before delivery, so your outreach lands in the right inbox.
When did Bela Hatvany last invest?
The most recent investment recorded for Bela Hatvany closed in May 2017. Shizune tracks 1 investment in total for this profile, including round sizes, stages and portfolio companies, all sourced from confirmed public funding rounds and refreshed monthly.
Is Shizune's investor data accurate?
Yes — every stat on this profile is calculated from confirmed public funding rounds monitored across hundreds of sources since 2020. This profile was last refreshed in Aug 2026 and is updated monthly. Spotted something off? Use the “Suggest an edit” link near the top of the page.
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