Web Video Communication Service Caps Period of Strong Momentum and Usage
Growth; Management Team to Expand
SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 7 /PRNewswire/ -- TokBox, a first-of-its-kind
web-based video communication service that offers consumers free and
effortless video calling, today announced the closing of a $10 million
Series B financing round led by Bain Capital Ventures. Sequoia Capital,
which led the Series A investment in TokBox, also invested in the new
round. TokBox will use the new funding to build out its executive team and
drive continued expansion of the company's user base both in the U.S. and
worldwide.
In recent months, TokBox has added new features and functionality to
enhance the consumer experience, including integrating its video
capabilities into Facebook chat and providing an easy-to-use downloadable
version of the application. The company also recently announced the
appointment of Nick Triantos, technology veteran and video expert, as CEO.
"Consumers are in love with TokBox, and use it to keep in touch with
friends and family around the globe," said Triantos. "We're proud of the
service we've created and how easy it is for anyone to use TokBox. We are
grateful that a world-class venture firm like Bain Capital Ventures also
sees our potential, and are thrilled to have them join Sequoia Capital as
investors in TokBox."
Since launching in October 2007, TokBox has grown rapidly and is
already being used in a variety of interesting ways -- from people staying
in touch with distant relatives and friends chatting during school holidays
to online dating and job search. In addition, TokBox gives users the tools
to add a video communication element to their blog, social networking or
commerce and community sites profile by embedding the unique application
directly into the page.
"TokBox has an impressive and very loyal and energetic user base," said
Scott Friend, Venture Partner at Bain Capital Ventures. "The company is
executing well and its service offers consumers a variety of great features
that strongly differentiate TokBox from competitors. We are excited to be
investing with our partners at Seqouia in a company we believe has the
potential to be the next 'big thing' in web communication."
"Tokbox is uniquely positioned as a leader in the burgeoning consumer
video communications market," said Roelof Botha of Sequoia Capital. "Their
ultra-simple user interface sets a new bar for ease-of-use for consumers to
hold video calls with their friends and family around the world. We're very
happy with their growth to date, which is why we are enthusiastic to
participate in their Series B investment."
For more information about TokBox, please visit http://www.tokbox.com.
About TokBox
TokBox is a first-of-its-kind consumer video communication service that
helps people talk face-to-face with a single click. Offering both a
web-based and a downloadable version, TokBox requires no registration, no
configuration or any other hassle. TokBox also lets users send video mails
to anyone with an email address, and embed video communication into any
website (e.g. blogs, social networks or dating sites). Located in San
Francisco, California, TokBox is privately held and currently recruiting
skilled professionals who like to create great products and have fun. For
more information, visit http://www.tokbox.com or follow product updates at
http://www.tokbox.com/blog.
About Bain Capital Ventures
Bain Capital Ventures is the Boston-based venture capital group of Bain
Capital, whose affiliates manage over $75 billion of assets. Founded in
1984, Bain Capital and its affiliates have invested in over 300 companies
with such notable successes as DoubleClick, Gartner Group, Taleo,
ProfitLogic, m-Qube and Staples. Bain Capital's history of investing in
early stage companies dates back to 1984, having made over 120
venture-stage investments since inception. Since 2000, the dedicated
venture group has focused exclusively on growth investments. Bain Capital
Ventures currently has over $1 billion under management and invests in
software, wireless, information-services, healthcare, technology-driven
business services, retail, internet and consumer businesses. Bain Capital
Ventures makes investments across all stages of a company's growth: from
providing seed capital through offering late stage growth equity. For more
information, please visit http://www.baincapitalventures.com.
About Sequoia Capital
Sequoia Capital provides venture capital funding to founders of
startups who want to turn business ideas into 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 Network Appliance, 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
and Dominic Orr and Keerti Melkote of Aruba Wireless Networks. To learn
more about Sequoia Capital visit http://www.sequoiacap.com.
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