NBC/GE joint venture invests $2M in game voice chat firm Vivox

Peacock Equity has invested $2 million in online game voice-chat company Vivox.

Peacock is a joint investment fund of General Electric Capital’s Media, Communications and Entertainment business and NBC Universal. Boston-based Vivox lets players engage in voice chat in their favorite online games. Vivox will use the money to expand into new markets and provide complementary offerings such as presence, text, virtual goods and audio advertising.

The investment shows that old media companies are interested in the new media of games and the audiences that games are reaching. As games become more social, Vivox believes that more gamers will want to communicate via online voice chat.

Other investors include Benchmark Capital, Canaan Partners, GrandBanks Capital and IDG Ventures. Peacock Equity is interested in Vivox because it is doing cutting-edge communications and has established itself among game fans, which is an audience that Peacock views as important. Vivox reaches 30 million users in more than 180 countries, and its customers include CCP Games, Linden Lab, Nexon, Realtime Worlds, Sony Online Entertainment and Wizards of the Coast.

Vivox was founded in 2005 and has 38 employees. Rivals include Dolby. Vivox is a multi-platform solution that connects users in high-definition voice chats whether they are using a PC, Mac, web page, or PlayStation 3.

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