Akimbo, failed video distribution company, tries again, raises $8M

Akimbo, the San Mateo, Calif. company that tried to offer video over a set-top box, but gave up in May last year because no one was buying the box, has launched again with a different management team, $8 million in fresh funding and a different strategy.

The company said it realized it still had valuable technology, and so has refashioned it to market it to video publishes who want to deliver their own video online. The company offers a feature that allows online advertising, but also provides other features to help publishers monetize, including ways to charge for things like pay-per-minute or subscriptions. One content provider to sign up is MavTV.com, from the Mav’rick Entertainment Network, which targets male viewers.

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The financing comes from Draper Fisher Jurvetson, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Zone Ventures, Blueprint Ventures and AT&T.

Here’s our story from last year, about the former Akimbo chief executive leaving to join Norwest, which happened after the original incarnation of the company didn’t work out (see our coverage).

Cisco, an original investor, did not partake in this revival. AT&T is a new backer.