Intel Capital and Limelight Networks Make Strategic Investments Into Gaikai
By Gaikai Inc., PRNEMonday, July 19, 2010
Technology Innovators Join Forces to Bring Cloud Based Game Streaming to the Masses
LOS ANGELES, July 20, 2010 - Gaikai Inc., the innovative cloud-based game streaming service, today
announced Intel Capital and Limelight Networks (NASDAQ: LLNW) as investors in
the company.
"Intel's mind-blowingly fast CPUs have had a profound effect on our
business model, allowing us to stream more games simultaneously while
offering users a premium experience. Having Intel Capital buy into our vision
as much as we buy into their processors makes this a great deal for both
companies," said David Perry, CEO of Gaikai Inc.
"Partnering with Limelight to leverage their globally distributed,
high-performance platform will help ensure that the fidelity of our
cloud-based gaming service is as graphically rich and responsive as a
traditional console experience," said David Perry, CEO of Gaikai Inc.
"Innovations in both content delivery technologies and the supporting
data center architectures are transforming the future of gaming by enabling
the distribution of leading edge games on a wide variety of connected devices
to internet users worldwide," said Lisa Lambert, Vice-President, Intel
Capital. "Gaikai's innovative interactive content network positions the
company as a leading player in the emerging area of cloud-based gaming and we
look forward to working with Gaikai to provide new data center capabilities
to support their technologies."
"We believe Gaikai is well-positioned to help innovative game publishers
capitalize on recent advancements in cloud computing to drive more rapid game
adoption across an expanding universe of game-capable devices. The
hyper-connected gamer will now have even more opportunities to enjoy their
favorite pastime. Limelight Networks is pleased to be serving as a key
strategic enablement partner that is helping Gaikai build their business and
capitalize on this substantial market opportunity," said Jeff Lunsford,
chairman and chief executive officer, Limelight Networks, Inc.
Gaikai will launch in the summer of 2010, with servers powered by Intel's
Six-Core processors and Intel Solid State Drives, running through the key
nodes of the Limelight network.
This investment announcement follows the recent announcement of a
partnership deal with Electronic Arts (NASDAQ: ERTS) which will see a number
of EA's top franchises including The Sims, Mass Effect and Medal of Honor
streamed over Gaikai.
Gaikai offers the ability to play any game instantly inside the web
browser with just one click, no big game download, no game install and no
patching. This frictionless server-based, cloud-gaming technology is designed
to dramatically increase both reach, and audience participation, while
bringing down acquisition costs dramatically. By playing games remotely from
Gaikai servers around the world, players simply play wherever they are
browsing, removing the need to pay for advertising clicks to move gamers
around on the Internet. This freedom to play anywhere opens up exciting
business models as you can play on any video game retailer site, any news
site, publisher sites, or even inside Facebook.
About Gaikai Inc.
Gaikai Inc, the new cloud based streaming service for video games and
applications headed by game industry veteran David Perry, is headquartered in
Southern California and funded by Benchmark Capital, TriplePoint Capital,
Rustic Canyon Partners and a fourth mystery investor. The underlying
technology for Gaikai was created by co-founders Andrew Gault and Rui Pereira
who met while working together in The Netherlands. For more information,
please visit: www.gaikai.com Twitter: twitter.com/gaikai_inc
About Intel Capital
Intel Capital, Intel's global investment organization, makes equity
investments in innovative technology start-ups and companies worldwide. Intel
Capital invests in a broad range of companies offering hardware, software,
and services targeting enterprise, home, mobility, health, consumer Internet,
semiconductor manufacturing and cleantech. Since 1991, Intel Capital has
invested more than US$9.5 billion in over 1,050 companies in 47 countries. In
that timeframe, 175 portfolio companies have gone public on various exchanges
around the world and 241 were acquired or participated in a merger. In 2009,
Intel Capital invested US$327 million in 107 investments with approximately
50 percent of funds invested outside the United States and Canada. For more
information on Intel Capital and its differentiated advantages, visit
www.intelcapital.com.
About Limelight Networks, Inc.
Limelight Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ: LLNW) provides on-demand software,
platform, and infrastructure services that help global businesses reach and
engage audiences online or on any mobile or connected device, enabling them
to enhance their brand presence, build stronger customer relationships,
optimize their advertising, and monetize their digital assets. For more
information, please visit www.limelightnetworks.com or follow us on
Twitter at www.twitter.com/llnw.
Gaikai Media Contact: Alison Beasley, Lincoln Beasley PR, E: Alison at lincolnbeasley.co.uk, T: +44(0)160-864-5756, C: +44(0)796-644-9130
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