EMERYVILLE, Calif.—MobiTV Inc. padded its already-thick wallet, raking in $30 million in a third round of funding and adding two new investors.
Adobe Systems Inc. and Hearst Corp. became backers of the company with the latest round, which pushed MobiTV’s total investment funding to the $125-million mark since its founding seven years ago. Existing investors Oak Investment Partners, Menlo Ventures, Redpoint Ventures and Gefinor Ventures also participated.
“We are truly fortunate to have garnered such a fantastic set of partners that share our vision of transforming the way people experience and interact with TV and radio wherever they are, regardless of what device they happen to be watching,” said Phillip Alvelda, MobiTV’s chief executive officer. “We plan to use these funds to strengthen our current market lead, and to invest in further research and development of new network technology standards such as WiMAX.”
MobiTV has gained substantial ground in the early days of wireless video. The company counts Cingular Wireless L.L.C. and Sprint Nextel Corp. among its carrier partners, and claims more than 1 million subscribers.
But MobiTV finds itself in a precarious position as three dedicated wireless multimedia networks are expected to come online in the next year. While companies such as Qualcomm Inc. and Crown Castle International Corp. are spending hundreds of millions on new networks, MobiTV hopes to continue to find success in offering video over cellular networks.
