With video content accounting for well over half of global internet traffic, cable companies are finding themselves under increased pressure to scale up their infrastructure and improve user experience. The problem is that keeping up with viewer demand without breaking the budget is easier said than done.

In comes Qwilt, a Redwood City-based startup that leverages commodity hardware and bleeding edge caching technology to optimize video traffic. Its flagship QB-Series Video Fabric Controller identifies popular titles, stores them locally in close proximity to end users, and delivers content directly instead of streaming it from origin sites or content delivery networks. The company touts that the platform enables carriers to reduce their bandwidth requirements, cost-effectively increase network capacity, and boost video quality at the same time. These benefits have gained Qwilt 25 customers since 2011, as well as a good bit of funding.

Qwilt will announce tomorrow that it has raised $16 million in Series C funding from Bessemer Venture Partners and existing investors Accel Partners, Redpoint Ventures and Marker. The round brings the company’s total capital to $40 million.

“Today, with the explosion of video content, content providers and consumer devices, demand is growing exponentially, making the old approach to expanding network capacity a costly and unviable option,” stated Alon Maor, the founding CEO of Qwilt. “An intelligent, software-defined layer, deployed deep inside the operator network, in close proximity to consumers, is necessary to determine what content is trending and popular in a specific city or region. This same intelligent layer can then store (or “cache”) popular selections at the subscriber edge, ensuring faster delivery and optimized viewing quality.”

Qwilt will use the new capital to expand worldwide sales efforts and accelerate product engineering.