Ecast Inc. on Tuesday
announced a partnership with multimedia content distributor Akamai Technologies Inc. [
AKAM] in a deal to help the touchscreen jukebox maker accommodate traffic spikes on its network.
The two companies have been working together for nearly a year, an Ecast spokesman said. Ecast said Akamai's service allowed it to withstand its highest-ever user demand on the Friday before last Christmas.
Reports
surfaced late last month that Ecast had raised the first $12.3 million of a planned $18.6 million round of funding. The Ecast spokesman only acknowledged that the company is attempting to raise capital and that it plans a future announcement concerning an investment. The company supports a network of more than 10,000 touch-screen jukeboxes in bars, nightclubs and other venues around the U.S.
Backed by Focus Ventures, Mobius Venture Capital, Crosslink Capital, DCM and El Dorado Ventures, Ecast raised more than $40 million in three rounds spread over three years following its 2003 recapitalization. Chief executive John Taylor told The Deal in 2006 that he expected Ecast to reach
profitability without additional funding by the end of 2007.
-- Paul Bonanos
See press release from Akamai and eCastSee May 28 post from Tech Confidential concerning eCast's fundraising
Continue reading below
