Akimbo Shuts Down
Internet TV Firm Closes Doors After Shifting Business Model
By Todd Spangler -- Multichannel News, 5/28/2008 11:24:00 AM MT
Akimbo, which had developed one of the first set-top boxes for playing Internet video on the TV, has ceased operations after failing to get traction with its business-to-business services play.
Akimbo’s demise was first reported last week by financial blog VentureBeat. The San Mateo, Calif., company recently had as many as 25 employees.
Investors in the company included Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield & Byers, Draper Fisher Jurvetson, Zone Ventures, Sonic Solutions, AT&T, Blueprint Ventures, Cisco Systems, Sprout Group and Wasatech Venture Fund. According to VentureBeat, Akimbo had raised a total of $47 million.
Founded in 2002, Akimbo originally sold subscriptions to an on-demand Internet video service using a proprietary set-top box developed with Thomson.
About a year ago, Akimbo phased out the hardware product, shifting its business model to sell video content online.
Then, earlier this year, Akimbo announced another attempt to reinvent itself, offering to develop and host Web video services for customers.
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