The digital world is moving to video, and anyone who can enrich the experience is bound to make a buck. One startup with its eyes on the prize is San Jose, California-based Asterpix, which on Monday launched the latest version of its web-based tool that promises to do to video what hyperlinks did to text.

Asterpix’s technology lets creators place links, or “hot spots,” in their videos on any object, such as a dog or the jersey of an athlete. Viewers click on these links to get more information directly on the screen or to connect to other videos or sites.

A video showing a sports car speeding down the highway might have a hotspot on the car’s tires, for example, which once clicked could give brand and pricing details and a close-up picture.

Here’s an example of a hot-spotted surfer riding a 64-foot wave in Maui.

Much like text-based hyperlinks, hot spots also let users bounce from point to point throughout the web as if—in the words of Asterpix CEO Nat Kausik—you’re “video surfing.”

The larger goal, said Mr. Kausik, is to help bloggers and web publishers build more customized, interactive videos. And if hypervideo technology—from Asterpix or elsewhere—were to become pervasive, one could imagine a world of layer upon layer of interconnected video.

But for the time being, Asterpix is still fine-tuning its service. It already has a free consumer version online, and with Monday’s launch of the “Pro” version, the company has its first moneymaking offering. For the latter, video owners—who host their own content—will pay Asterpix a few cents whenever a customer views videos or clicks on certain hotspots.

While there are hypervideo desktop products on the market, such as one by VideoClix that starts at $249, Asterpix is betting that its simple interface and web-based approach will attract users.

But there is big money to be made for anyone who can help make money from online video, said Gartner analyst Van Baker, and that means more direct competitors shouldn’t be far behind.

Overlay.tv is one of them. The Ottawa, Canada-based startup, which completed a $4.6 million first round of venture funding this January, launches next month.

Founded in 2006, Asterpix is backed by New Enterprise Associates.