iBEAM Broadcasting Raises $42 Million Financing to Build World's Largest Streaming Media Network; Funding Provided by Covad Communications, Intel, and Microsoft

Business Wire, Oct 14, 1999

SUNNYVALE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--October 14, 1999--

iBEAM Broadcasting(TM) Corporation today announced a third round of financing, totaling $42 million. This latest level of funding will help drive the expansion of the iBEAM(TM) sales force and network toward a goal of serving greater than 1 million simultaneous Internet users by 2001. The iBEAM Network(TM) currently has capacity to serve more than 300,000 simultaneous users. The iBEAM Network brings high quality streaming audio and video to mass audiences on the Internet.

The new round of investment comes from the existing investors, as well as several new strategic investors. The new strategic investors include Covad Communications (Nasdaq:COVD) and Microsoft. Intel Corporation, an investor in the previous round of financing, has taken a larger position in iBEAM. These new investments will help iBEAM achieve its mission to deliver high quality, low cost Internet streaming on a mass scale. The new strategic investors join iBEAM's existing investors including Accel Partners, CrossPoint Venture Partners, Liberty Digital, Media Technology Ventures and Stanford University. Financial details were not disclosed.

"Our strategic investors are all leading companies in various segments of the Internet," said Peter Desnoes, President and CEO of iBEAM Broadcasting Corporation. "From the highest quality music and entertainment programming, to the most widely used software platform on the Internet, to the industry-leading broadband Internet access provider, we believe our relationships with our strategic investors have helped to propel iBEAM to the forefront of streaming media distribution."

iBEAM Broadcasting has a uniquely powerful network designed to deliver high quality streaming media to hundreds of thousands of simultaneous Internet users. By using the economies of scale of satellite broadcasting, iBEAM's services are efficient enough to make Webcasting an affordable enterprise for content providers, and enables the company to deliver more than 300,000 simultaneous streams to viewers and listeners.

iBEAM achieved this extensive capacity by deploying a highly distributed network of servers connected by satellite - which circumvents the congested, and often overloaded, Internet. This low-cost satellite distribution technology along with various other patent pending streaming technologies allow iBEAM to offer a streaming solution with a potential to both scale to meet the demands of the largest events, and yield the highest quality streaming experience for the end user.

"iBEAM's innovative 'edge of network' delivery solution plays a critical role in overcoming the cost and network congestion barriers needed to spark mass consumer broadband usage," said Will Poole, general manager, Marketing and Business Development, Streaming Media Division, Microsoft Corp. "We are excited about the potential of this solution to lower costs and improve quality for both Windows Media content providers and the millions of Windows Media Player users on the Internet today."

"Intel's increased investment in iBEAM is our way of re-affirming our commitment to the development of the Internet, our customers, and to the technologies that hold the potential to accelerate the development and implementation of rich multimedia applications for consumers," said Ron Whittier, Intel Senior Vice President and General Manager, Intel Content Services.

"Covad Communications is the leading provider of broadband DSL connections to business and home users," said Robert Davenport, Executive Vice President of Business Development for Covad Communications. "We view the iBEAM Network as a key component of the streaming media distribution system that will fundamentally change the way end users interact with audio and video. We are pleased to be working with an industry leader like iBEAM."

The combination of funding, technology, and distribution agreements with such notables as Bloomberg, LAUNCH.com and AtomFilms makes iBEAM the leading streaming content distributor of the industry. iBEAM has a unique solution that guarantees quality for both live and on-demand media, in all of the leading formats including Microsoft Windows Media and Real Networks G2 streaming software. The iBEAM Network is fully operational, delivering live Webcasts of high-profile events such as Woodstock '99 and the De La Hoya pre and post fight broadcasts.

About iBEAM Broadcasting Corporation

iBEAM Broadcasting, headquartered in Sunnyvale, Calif., has created a distributed network infrastructure to deliver CD-quality audio and broadcast quality video on the Internet. The iBEAM architecture has the scalability required to support mass audiences, as well as the economic advantages of point-to-multipoint broadcasting. Founded by data communications, television and telecommunications professionals in 1998, iBEAM Broadcasting Corporation's mission is to provide a key infrastructure component in a new era of rich multimedia Internet applications for the mass market. For more information about iBEAM Broadcasting's Webcast Distribution services, visit http://www.ibeam.com, or contact the company at 645 Almanor Avenue, Suite 100, Sunnyvale, CA 94086, telephone 408-523-1600.