5th Kind
Sohonet provides managed infrastructure and workflow collaboration tools — including real-time review, high-speed file transfer, production asset management, and on-set connectivity — for film, TV, streaming, advertising, and post-production enterprises globally.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1997
- HeadquartersCulver City, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What 5th Kind does
Sohonet is a privately held media and entertainment workflow solutions provider, founded in 1997 and operating for over 28 years. The company serves film and television studios, streaming platforms, production companies, post-production facilities, and advertising agencies with a unified platform-plus-modules architecture centered on the Media Fabric managed infrastructure layer. Its product portfolio spans the full production lifecycle: Clearview Rush (dailies review), Clearview Flex (editorial review), Clearview Pivot (4K HDR finishing review), FileRunner (browser-based high-speed file transfer), and Storylink/Core (production asset management), bundled into Review Suite and PAM Suite packages and backed by 24/7 expert support from media-workflow engineers.
The underlying technology combines real-time streaming, secure file transfer, multi-location server synchronization, shared workspaces, on-set connectivity (managed LAN/WiFi, phones, internet), colocation, and managed security — purpose-built for creative production environments. Notable technical differentiators include Emmy-winning audio technology, 4K HDR streaming with 12-bit colour depth and 4:4:4 chroma sampling, and always-hot server synchronization for distributed production teams. The company recently expanded its partnership with BIND Studio to integrate VFX production infrastructure.
Sohonet operates a consultative enterprise field sales motion with "Talk to an expert" and "Let's chat" CTAs, targeting production studios and creative professionals through direct account-executive engagement. Its revenue model blends subscription-based software licensing (Clearview suite, FileRunner, Storylink) with managed infrastructure services (Media Fabric, connectivity, cloud access, security) and on-set services. Pricing is quote-based and not publicly disclosed, with annual billing cadence for enterprise clients. Named customers include Netflix, Marvel Studios, Lionsgate, Amazon, Paramount Pictures, Viacom, Bad Robot Productions, Laika, Riot Games, and Signature Post, indicating a tier-one enterprise customer base.
5th Kind firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- 5th Kind
- Legal name
- Sohonet
- Website
- https://5thkind.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1997
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Sohonet provides managed infrastructure and workflow collaboration tools — including real-time review, high-speed file transfer, production asset management, and on-set connectivity — for film, TV, streaming, advertising, and post-production enterprises globally.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
5th Kind industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Media & Entertainment Workflow Software
- NAICS
- Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services (5182), Computer Systems Design and Related Services (5415)
- SIC
- Services-Prepackaged Software (7372), Services-Allied To Motion Picture Production (7819), Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Remote Review, Approval & Dailies (screening, annotations, version compare) (MPAHANAB)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Cloud Editing & Finishing Platforms (NLE in cloud, conform, color) (MPAHANAA), Network Management (LAN/WAN/Wi‑Fi) Services (BPAEABAD), Private Cloud Platforms (On‑Prem Cloud Stacks) (HDABABAA)
Keywords
Where 5th Kind is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Culver City
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Markets served
5th Kind business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Operations, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Software Subscriptions and Licenses: Subscription-based access to Clearview suite products (Flex, Rush, Pivot), FileRunner, Storylink/Core PAM, and Review Suite tools for production asset management and collaboration
- Managed Infrastructure Services: Media Fabric managed services including connectivity, cloud access, managed security, colocation, and 24/7 expert support bundled with infrastructure services
- On-Set Services: Connectivity services for production sets including managed LAN/WiFi, phones, and internet infrastructure for on-location shoots
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Annual | Enterprise pricing with custom solutions |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels5 records
5th Kind product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Sohonet sells a portfolio of subscription software products and managed infrastructure services for the media and entertainment industry. Core offerings include the Clearview suite (Flex, Rush, Pivot) for real-time and near-time creative review, FileRunner for high-speed browser-based file transfer, Storylink/Core for studio-scale production asset management, and the Media Fabric managed infrastructure platform that bundles connectivity, cloud access, managed security, server sync, shared workspaces, and on-set connectivity with 24/7 expert support.
Product overview
Sohonet is a media and entertainment workflow solutions provider offering a unified platform-plus-modules architecture. The core portfolio includes the ClearView review suite (Rush for dailies, Flex for editorial, Pivot for finishing/4K HDR), FileRunner for high-speed file transfer, Storylink/Core for production asset management, and Media Fabric as the foundational infrastructure platform. These products support the full production lifecycle from pre-production through integrated marketing, enabling real-time collaboration, secure file sharing, and cloud connectivity for film, TV, and advertising professionals.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Clearview Flex: Stream creative work sessions in real-time and recreate the 'over-the-shoulder' review experience from wherever you are.
- Clearview Rush
- Clearview Pivot
- FileRunner
- Core (PAM Suite)
- Media Fabric
Products and services
- Clearview Flex Real-time streaming software that recreates the over-the-shoulder creative review experience from any location, used by studios, production companies, and post-production facilities for editorial sessions.
- Clearview Rush Secure near-time review software for dailies, cuts, and other production assets with annotation and team collaboration features, used by production and post-production teams.
- Clearview Pivot Real-time 4K HDR streaming software with 12-bit colour depth and 4:4:4 chroma sampling, enabling frame-accurate colour and finishing review by multiple parties simultaneously.
- FileRunner Browser-based high-speed file transfer software for creative teams, allowing sharing of files of unlimited size without plug-ins, software, or server installs.
- Storylink (Core) Production Asset Management Production Asset Management (PAM) platform purpose-built for studio-scale collaboration, providing an intuitive interface for connecting storytellers, managing creative assets, and enabling collaborative workflows.
- Review Suite Suite packaging the Clearview review tools together, covering dailies review (Clearview Rush), editorial review (Clearview Flex), and finishing review (Clearview Pivot) for end-to-end production review workflows.
- PAM Suite Production Asset Management suite that combines asset review, production asset management, and file transfer capabilities into an integrated offering for studios and production companies.
- Media Fabric Managed infrastructure platform for creative teams that unifies core connectivity, cloud access, managed security, file transfer, multi-location server sync, and shared workspaces, delivered with 24/7 expert support.
- On-Set Connectivity Managed on-set connectivity service providing phones, internet, WiFi, and LAN switching for production sets and locations.
- Always-Hot Server Sync Multi-location server synchronization service that keeps creative team servers continuously replicated for distributed production environments.
- Shared Workspaces Collaborative workspace solution that enables distributed creative teams across multiple locations to work together in shared environments.
Quantifiable outcome
- Real-time streaming of editorial reviews and creative work sessions from any location
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use 5th Kind
Customer profileNamed customers12 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
5th Kind technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature9 records
5th Kind partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- BIND StudiocoreSohonet and BIND Studio expanded their partnership to deliver what they describe as the 'Easy Button' for VFX production. This partnership integrates Sohonet's managed infrastructure and connectivity solutions with BIND Studio's VFX production tools to streamline visual effects workflows for production studios.
Scale indicators1 record
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights4 records
5th Kind competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Frame.io: Cloud-based video review and collaboration platform now owned by Adobe. Direct competitor to Sohonet's Clearview suite across dailies, editorial, and finishing review workflows, with deeper Adobe Creative Cloud distribution.
- Signiant: Provider of managed file transfer and intelligent data movement software for media workflows. Directly comparable to Sohonet's FileRunner and Media Fabric transfer capabilities serving the same film/TV/broadcast customer base.
- Evercast: Real-time remote collaboration platform purpose-built for film and TV post-production (editorial, colour, VFX supervision). Directly comparable to Clearview Flex and Pivot's frame-accurate streaming and remote review use cases.
- Iconik: Cloud-native media asset management platform with hybrid cloud storage and collaboration features. Comparable to Sohonet's Storylink/Core PAM suite for studio-scale asset management and remote creative collaboration.
- ftrack: Production tracking, project management, and review platform for film, TV, and advertising pipelines. Overlaps with Sohonet's review and asset management modules from a project-coordination angle.
- Wipster: Video review and approval platform with annotation and workflow automation. Comparable to Sohonet's Clearview Rush/Flex for creative review and approval across distributed teams.
Broad incumbents
- ShotGrid (Autodesk): Cloud-based production tracking and review platform from Autodesk. Competes in the same VFX/animation/film production management category as Sohonet's Core PAM, leveraging Autodesk's much larger media software footprint.
- IBM Aspera: Enterprise-grade high-speed file transfer technology from IBM. Competes with Sohonet's FileRunner and Media Fabric transfer layers, especially for large-scale media and enterprise data movement.
Emerging players
- Vimeo: Video hosting, collaboration, and review platform with creator and enterprise tiers. Overlaps with Sohonet's review and proofing workflows, particularly for marketing and short-form content adjacent to Sohonet's integrated marketing segment.
- Haivision: Provider of video contribution, encoding, and real-time low-latency streaming for live broadcast and remote production. Adjacent to Sohonet's Media Fabric connectivity and on-set connectivity offerings.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
5th Kind social profiles
Digital presence5th Kind financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
5th Kind leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
5th Kind funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds1 record
Investors1 record
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
5th Kind M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about 5th Kind
What does 5th Kind do?
Sohonet sells a portfolio of subscription software products and managed infrastructure services for the media and entertainment industry. Core offerings include the Clearview suite (Flex, Rush, Pivot) for real-time and near-time creative review, FileRunner for high-speed browser-based file transfer, Storylink/Core for studio-scale production asset management, and the Media Fabric managed infrastructure platform that bundles connectivity, cloud access, managed security, server sync, shared workspaces, and on-set connectivity with 24/7 expert support.
Is 5th Kind a public or private company?
5th Kind is a private company. It is classified as unknown and is currently operating.
When was 5th Kind founded?
5th Kind was founded in 1997. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is 5th Kind based?
5th Kind is headquartered in Culver City, United States, in the North America region.
How does 5th Kind make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Software Subscriptions and Licenses are the primary driver. The others are managed Infrastructure Services and on-Set Services.
Who are 5th Kind's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Frame.io, Signiant, Evercast, Iconik, ftrack and Wipster. Broad incumbents are ShotGrid (Autodesk) and IBM Aspera. Emerging players are Vimeo and Haivision.
Does 5th Kind have an API?
No public API is recorded for 5th Kind.
What industry is 5th Kind in?
5th Kind's product category is Media & Entertainment Workflow Software. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPAHANAB, Remote Review, Approval & Dailies (screening, annotations, version compare), with a secondary code of MPAHANAA, Cloud Editing & Finishing Platforms (NLE in cloud, conform, color). Its NAICS code is 5182 and its SIC code is 7372.