Written by Chris Albrecht
Posted Friday, August 1, 2008 at 12:21 PM PT

Sezmi Seeking $50 Million

TV set-top box startup Sezmi (formerly Building B) is looking to raise $50 million in new venture capital, and has retained Advanced Equities to place the deal. From PE Hub, which uncovered the news in a July 18th regulatory filing:

The document reports that just under $14 million has been “sold,” which means either (A) It’s still looking for fresh capital, or (B) It has $50 million in commitments, but has not yet called it all down – due to either preference or milestone requirements.

Previously, Sezmi had raised $18 million. But I think investors looking to pony up for this $50 million round may want to think twice.

Sezmi, which will go into private trials later this year, is hoping to upend the existing TV distribution by using a combination of over-the-air digital broadcasts and broadband connectivity (see our previous coverage). In its current state, I think Sezmi is too confusing for the average Joe to capture mainstream acceptance. The battle over your TV will be won by the likes of Apple, Netflix or Amazon.

Sphere

Topic: Money & Power, Startups

Comments & Trackbacks

looks like another roadkill like akimbo…

james pierce on August 1st, 2008 at 3:21 pm - Permalink
“The battle over your TV will be won by the likes of Apple, Netflix or Amazon”

or Zipityzap

icarus on August 1st, 2008 at 5:16 pm - Permalink
or an open standards box like what has happened to the DVD player.
How many branded DVD players get purchased compaired to the play anything $50 version.

I have never purchased a brand name DVD player. And in any case, the brand ones are just the cheap ones with a band on them these days.

Look ahead, don’t believe the hype. Tho those brands mentioned will set up a platform for donwloadable media . Can we expect them to be relavant in a world where DRM is dead (Music and eventually Video).
A world where it is generally easier to download a torrent/video then it it so purchase it.

James Gardiner on August 2nd, 2008 at 11:12 pm - Permalink