SAN FRANCISCO, CA--(Marketwire - November 15, 2010) - Web 2.0 Summit -- TokBox, a leading Web video communications provider, today announced it has raised $12 million in its third round of venture capital funding, led by DAG Ventures. Current investors Bain Capital and Sequoia Capital also participated in this round, which is earmarked to fund strategic growth as the company unveils OpenTok, a game-changing new platform announced today that weaves live, group video communication into the fabric of the Web.
"TokBox is the pioneer in making group video communications accessible to anyone with a browser," said Ian Small, CEO of TokBox. "Over the last year, we have made breakthrough improvements and invested in technologies that extend the range and usability of video chat. With this new funding, we enter an exciting new phase for our company, launching OpenTok, which enables businesses, entrepreneurs, developers and others with a Web presence to weave live group video chat into their Web experience."
TokBox, founded in 2007 with the mission to make video conferencing simple, is the first company to deliver a no-download, Web-based solution where a person can see and speak with one person or an entire community. The new OpenTok platform makes it possible for developers to build scalable multi-way video chat into their Web sites through a flexible and customizable set of JavaScript APIs. Nearly any type of business will be able to seamlessly integrate video chat around its Web content, bringing rich, human interaction to the experience and therefore deepening user engagement.
"Online video chat is an explosive market, but so far, we've only seen the initial set of applications," said Greg Williams, managing director of DAG Ventures and a TokBox board observer. "TokBox is in a unique position to drive a new generation of Web video chat applications with its easy-to-use, Web-based technology and platform."
"We believe that by making video chat a Web primitive, OpenTok will change the face of the video communications market," said Roelof Botha, partner at Sequoia Capital and TokBox board member. "To date, video chat has taken place in a silo. The reality is that meaningful conversations are sparked when users encounter content and experiences they want to share. With OpenTok, video chat can easily be integrated into any Web experience, increasing consumer engagement and we believe, ultimately unlocking the potential of video communications on the Web."
"In a few short years, online video chat has accelerated from simply an interesting idea to mainstream acceptance," said Scott Friend of Bain Capital Ventures and a TokBox board member. "TokBox's insight into the evolving market opportunity is exciting, their roster of partners is growing, and their technology bets are ready to pay off. TokBox is going to change the way people think of Web-based video chat."
About Bain Capital
Bain Capital is a global private investment firm that manages several pools of capital including private equity, venture capital, public equity and leveraged debt assets with more than $64 billion in assets under management. Since its inception in 1984, Bain Capital has made private equity investments and add-on acquisitions in over 300 companies around the world, including investments in a broad range of companies such as Sun Telephone, D&M Holdings, MEI Conlux, Toys "R" Us and Dunkin' Brands. The firm has a team of over 300 professionals dedicated to investing in and supporting its portfolio companies. Headquartered in Boston, Bain Capital has offices in Hong Kong, Shanghai, Tokyo, Mumbai, New York, Chicago, London and Munich. For more information, visit www.baincapital.com.
About DAG Ventures
DAG Ventures, headquartered in Palo Alto, CA, is a venture capital partnership investing in and helping outstanding entrepreneurs create leading, long-term companies across a range of markets. With roots from the 1980's in cable TV, infrastructure, media and wireless industries, the partnership today is privileged to work with world-class entrepreneurs as they build tomorrow's leaders in the information technology, energy and life science sectors. For more information on DAG Ventures, visit its website at http://www.dagventures.com.
About Sequoia Capital
Sequoia Capital provides venture capital funding to founders of startups who want to turn business ideas into enduring companies. As the "Entrepreneurs Behind the Entrepreneurs," Sequoia Capital's Partners have worked with innovators such as Steve Jobs of Apple Computer, Larry Ellison of Oracle, Bob Swanson of Linear Technology, Sandy Lerner and Len Bozack of Cisco Systems, Dan Warmenhoven of NetApp, Jerry Yang and David Filo of Yahoo!, Jen-Hsun Huang of NVIDIA, Michael Marks of Flextronics, Larry Page and Sergey Brin of Google, Chad Hurley and Steve Chen of YouTube, Dominic Orr and Keerti Melkote of Aruba Networks, Jonathan Kaplan of Pure Digital, Tony Hsieh of Zappos, Omar Hamoui of Admob and Steve Streit of Green Dot. To learn more about Sequoia Capital, visit www.sequoiacap.com/us/technology.
About TokBox
TokBox is a leading multi-way Web video communications provider. OpenTok, the company's flagship product, is a game-changing new platform that enables Web sites to weave live, group video conversations into their online experience. Targeted at businesses, entrepreneurs, developers and anyone with a Web presence, the platform harnesses the power of video to drive user engagement with the Web site's content as never before. OpenTok-powered video conversations can be woven into nearly any Web activity or wrapped around a site's content -- from shopping with friends to talking about a breaking news story -- live, face-to-face on the Web. The scalable, customizable platform incorporates quality-enhancing proprietary TokBox technology and accommodates up to 20 chat participants live with thousands watching. TokBox is privately held and headquartered in San Francisco, CA.
For more information, visit www.tokbox.com or follow TokBox on Twitter: @TokBox. Follow the conversation about OpenTok with Twitter hashtag #OpenTok. Also check out a variety of OpenTok applications at yapmap.opentok.com and trendtok.opentok.com.
Editor's Note: For more information on TokBox's OpenTok platform announcement, please contact the media contacts listed below.
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