Another $5.6 Million for Kyte.tv
The San Francisco-based startup behind mobile lifestreaming video service Kyte.tv, decentral.tv, has raised a whopping $5.6 million in new financing from Spanish phone company Telefonica, according to sources close to the company. This is in addition to over $2.25 million the company had previously raised. According to some estimates, the total VC funding raised by decentral is around $10 million.
I had learned about Kyte.tv’s new financing efforts about three weeks ago, and was able to nail down the details while attending the Le Web 3 conference in Paris. As I have already reported, lifecasting/lifestreaming as a concept is becoming increasingly popular, and several new startups are jumping into the fray.
Mobile carriers are especially keen on such technologies because they can help boost the demand for 3G wireless broadband services. With voice revenue growth slowing, mobile carriers worldwide are looking at data service revenues to boost their sales.
Kyte.tv, which had raised $2.25 million from Atomico (co-founded by Niklas Zennström), Draper Fisher Jurvetson and Draper Richards in its initial funding round, has an edge over some of its rivals, though the company needs to work hard to make its solutions simpler and easier to use. The good news is that it has carriers like Swisscom, Telefonica and handset maker Nokia in its corner, helping provide the backbone of growth any tiny startup needs.
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[...] ‘Lifecaster’ Kyte.TV Gets $5.6 Million From Telefonica NEWTEEVEE The San Francisco-based startup behind mobile lifestreaming video service Kyte.tv, decentral.tv, has raised $5.6 million in new financing from Spanish phone company Telefonica, according to sources close to the company. This is in addition to over $2.25 million the company had previously raised. According to some estimates, the total VC funding raised by decentral is around $10 million. In addition to its web platform, the company has put an emphasis on broadcasting mobile video. A major competitor is Justin.tv, perhaps the company most associated with the ‘lifecasting’ phenomenon. Source> [...]
December 13, 2007 | next media update on December 13th, 2007 at 5:28 pm - Permalink
There is no news of this at Telefonica website, not even a communication to the SEC.
Gonzalo Martín on December 14th, 2007 at 12:48 pm - Permalink
[...] $15M Second Round kyte.tv today announced a $15 million Series B round, part of which we scooped last week and most of which we’ve been reporting on as the company gathered it over the [...]
Kyte Completes $15M Second Round « NewTeeVee on December 19th, 2007 at 7:38 pm - Permalink
[...] like Seesmic, Ustream and Kyte.tv will need to incorporate mobile live video to compete. Kyte just raised $5.6 million from Telefonica, bringing its total funding to about $10 million. Also recall that [...]
Another New Live Video Play: Flixwagon « NewTeeVee on December 19th, 2007 at 10:31 pm - Permalink