Ecast Secures $20M Financing Round; Investment Led by Focus Ventures

Ecast Secures $20M Financing Round; Investment Led by Focus Ventures

Funding to be Used to Accelerate Growth of Ecast's National Digital Jukebox Network

SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 25 /PRNewswire/ -- Ecast, Inc., the leading out-of-home interactive media company that operates the largest network of broadband-enabled, digital touch-screen jukeboxes, today announced the completion of a $20 million financing round.

The financing was led by new investor, Focus Ventures, and included participation by existing investors including Mobius Venture Capital, Crosslink Capital, DCM, and El Dorado Ventures.

The company expects to focus the net proceeds of this investment to expand its sales channel, target new markets, increase research and development and to supplement sales and marketing efforts.

"I am gratified by the continued support of our existing investors and welcome Focus Ventures to our team. In addition to funding, each of our investment partners brings to Ecast immeasurable guidance and managerial support," said John Taylor, chief executive officer, Ecast. "This current round of funding will enable us to roll out new product enhancements that will simplify system deployments and allow us to significantly expand our national footprint over the next 12 months."

"Ecast is a fast-growing business that brings the advantages of broadband digital media to the jukebox industry," said Steve Bird, general partner, Focus Ventures. "We see a great opportunity for the company to build a significant revenue stream from advertising that is highly interactive and superbly targeted."

ABOUT ECAST

Ecast (www.ecastnetwork.com), founded in 1999, operates the largest broadband-enabled touchscreen media network in the United States with more than 8,000 digital jukeboxes nationwide. Each unit is linked to a database containing the largest music selection in the industry. By providing digital music to over 42 million listeners per month, the Ecast network allows marketers and content providers to reach an audience of highly desirable, young-adult influencers who profoundly affect purchasing decisions and consumer trends. Ecast's investment partners include Crosslink Capital, DCM, El Dorado Ventures, Focus Ventures and Mobius Venture Capital.

ABOUT FOCUS VENTURES

Focus Ventures is a top-performing venture capital firm that invests in expansion-stage leaders in the software, semiconductor and communications industries. The firm currently manages $830 million, having closed its first fund in October 1997, Focus Ventures II in December 1999 and Focus Ventures III in March 2006. Focus Ventures offers its portfolio companies access to high quality partners in Asia and an extensive network of resources focused specifically on driving top-line revenue growth through customer introductions and by establishing distribution channels, joint ventures and licensing arrangements. Since the firm's inception, Focus Ventures has invested in 93 companies and has had 20 IPOs and 15 acquisitions by public companies. A select number of portfolio companies that have gone public include: Active Software, Agile Software, Alteon Web-Systems, BroadBase Software, Chordiant Software, Commerce One, Copper Mountain Networks, Corio, CoSine Communications, Interwoven, Loudcloud, Niku, Pixelworks, and Verisity. For more information on Focus Ventures visit www.focusventures.com.

ABOUT MOBIUS VENTURES

Mobius Venture Capital is an early-stage venture capital fund with offices in Palo Alto, California and Superior, Colorado. Early investments included Yahoo/Geocities, ELoan, Verisign, and E*Trade. The current fund, Mobius VI, has been invested in over sixty innovative technology companies, including Infinera, Danger, Ecast, FeedBurner, Impinj, LRN, Perfect Commerce, Perpetual Entertainment, Postini, Quova, Reactrix, SkyPilot Networks, Sling Media, Technorati and deCarta.

ABOUT EL DORADO VENTURES

El Dorado Ventures (EDV) is a leading entrepreneur-focused, early-stage venture capital firm with a 20-year history of success. Entrepreneurs see EDV as a trusted investment partner who shares their vision and helps them succeed by providing ongoing strategic guidance and access to a wealth of industry contacts. With $750 million in capital under management, the firm invests across the information technology spectrum, from semiconductors and systems to communications, software and services, targeting both consumers and the enterprise. El Dorado's early-stage investments have included Cyras Systems, EarthLink, Efficient Networks, Novellus and NuSpeed Internet Systems. Numerous EDV portfolio companies have gone public or been acquired by major technology companies including Ciena, Cisco Systems, nVidia, Siemens, Texas Instruments and Yahoo. For more information, please visit www.eldorado.com.

ABOUT DOLL CAPITAL MANAGEMENT

DCM is a top-performing venture capital firm supporting entrepreneurs building early-stage technology companies. DCM partners manage more than US$1.5 billion and have funded leading technology companies including 2Wire, 51job, @Motion (Openwave), About.com (The New York Times Co.), All About, Dang Dang, Foundry Networks, HireRight, Internap, IPivot (Intel), JCI, Kabu.com, nQuire (Siebel), PGP Corporation, Recourse Technologies (Symantec), Sigmatel, SMIC, UUNet (MCI), Vimicro, and Worksoft. DCM offers hands-on operational guidance and access to an extensive network of resources, including close relationships with many of the Pacific Rim's leading companies and investors. For more information, please visit DCM's website at www.dcm.com.

ABOUT CROSSLINK CAPITAL

Crosslink Capital is a leading multi-stage technology venture capital and growth equity firm with over $1 billion in capital under management. Crosslink was among the first investment firms in the U.S. to integrate public and private technology investing. This strategy allows Crosslink to partner with its portfolio companies on a long-term basis. With more than 17 years behind it, Crosslink Capital has invested in over 90 companies, including such industry leaders as Equinix, Force10 Networks, Magma Design Automation, Miller Heiman and Virage Logic. For more information on Crosslink, visit the firm's Web site at http://www.crosslinkcapital.com/.

CONTACT INFO:
Anne Donohoe / Jennifer Handshew
KCSA Worldwide
(212) 896-1261 / (212) 896-1272
adonohoe@kcsa.com / jhandshew@kcsa.com

This release is available on the KCSA Worldwide Web site at www.kcsa.com.

Web cast: http://www.ecastnetwork.com
http://www.focusventures.com
http://www.eldorado.com
http://www.dcm.com
http://www.crosslinkcapital.com

Source: Ecast, Inc.

CONTACT: Anne Donohoe, +1-212-896-1261, adonohoe@kcsa.com, or Jennifer
Handshew, +1-212-896-1272, jhandshew@kcsa.com, both of KCSA Worldwide, for
Ecast, Inc.

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