Leading Cloud Gaming Company, Playcast, Raises $10 Million from MK Capital and JVP

LOS ANGELES, Jan. 25, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- To expand its growing global video game streaming service, Playcast Media Systems Ltd. announced today that it has raised $10 million in Series B financing from MK Capital, a Chicago/Los Angeles-based venture fund specializing in digital media, and JVP, a leading Israeli venture capital firm focused on media, technology and content. Existing shareholders Xenia Venture Capital and C.Mer Industries also participated in the round. Playcast, a provider of AAA quality video-game streaming channels to multi-system operators (MSOs) and telecommunication companies, launched its initial European service in November of last year.

Along with the investment, Playcast has also appointed to its Board of Directors Gadi Tirosh, a JVP partner and a former senior executive at NDS, the global leader in pay-TV technology, and Yair Landau, MK Capital's Los Angeles-based partner and the long time Vice Chairman of Sony Pictures, where he built and managed its Digital Entertainment division including Sony Online Entertainment, a leader in MMO Gaming.

"The Playcast service combines the latest in cloud computing with top-tier content to provide a AAA experience over existing pay-TV and cable networks," said Guy de Beer, Playcast Media CEO. "The partnership with JVP and MK Capital, with their deep understanding of the global media technology space, allows us to continue to grow throughout the world following the success we have experienced in Europe and Asia."

Landau stated: "Playcast has solved some very complex technological problems enabling a new and broader game-playing audience to experience console-level interactivity through their existing digital set-top boxes. With its unique technology, numerous game-publisher agreements and worldwide MSO/Telco relationships, Playcast is poised to build a meaningful business around the world. We are very excited to help Guy and his team take Playcast to the next level."

Tirosh added: "Playcast is at the nexus of some of the most powerful trends in the media business today – turning media from DVD sales and broadcast to on-demand streaming, enabling a new release window for AAA games, over-the-top TV services and the introduction of cloud computing to media services. This new investment allows Playcast to tap into a new pool of resources and expertise and position itself as a de-facto leader in the cloud gaming space."

About Playcast Media

Playcast provides a Cloud Gaming service to telecommunication companies and multi-system operators, bringing the console experience as a TV channel over the existing set-top boxes and network. The service is commercially available in Europe, and includes titles from the industry's top publishers including Activision, THQ, Capcom, Atari, Codemasters, and others. Playcast is a privately held company, based in Israel, UK and Los Angeles. For additional information about Playcast please visit: www.playcast-media.com

About JVP

JVP is a leading venture capital fund, headquartered in the JVP Media Quarter in Jerusalem with offices in New York, Los Angeles and Paris. Established in 1993, JVP manages over $820 million dollars through seven venture capital funds, spearheading, in its seventeen years of activity, some of Israel's largest exits. Most recently, JVP's portfolio company QLIK Technologies was listed on NASDAQ being cited as one of the most successful IPOs of 2010. The JVP Media Quarter is home to 12 of JVP's portfolio companies and the Fund's early stage incubator, JVP Media Labs, which invests in early stage media companies targeting fields such as: Web, mobile, advertising, gaming as well as enterprise software. The JVP Media Quarter is also home JVP's Community activities: Ha'Maabada, the Center for Performing Arts, and "Bakehila" the youth empowerment program supporting up to 3,000 youngsters in 5 underprivileged Jerusalem neighborhoods. For additional information on JVP please visit: http://www.jvpvc.com

About MK Capital

MK Capital is an established venture capital firm with offices in Chicago and Los Angeles. The Firm offers multi-stage growth equity and venture capital to companies in the following sectors: Digital Media, Software and Education Technology. As a member of the MK Capital portfolio, companies have access to an experienced partner with extensive operating experience. MK Capital plays a significant role with its portfolio companies, collaborating on strategy, operations, and technology as active members of the companies' boards, leveraging insights from a strong understanding of industry sectors to help their portfolio companies grow. For additional information about MK please visit: www.MKCapital.com

About Xenia Venture Capital

Xenia Venture Capital is a publically traded investment company which operates a privatized technological incubator. Xenia Venture Capital specializes in investments in companies and start-ups in the fields of medical devices and IT. Among Xenia's founders and main shareholders are the Novacom Group, controlled by Avishay Noam and H. Mer Industries, Anat Segal (CEO), as well as leading high-tech figures and institutional investors. Xenia's Board of Directors and Advisory Board comprise highly successful business entrepreneurs, members of Israel's high-tech elite, such as Dr. Orna Berry, Mr. Avi Lior, Mr. Roni Einav, Mr. Aki Ratner, Mr. Gideon Mantel, Dr. Yafit Stark, Prof. Yossi Shaham, and others. Xenia's goal is to jump-start and support entrepreneurs so as to increase their chances of success in world markets and enhance the realization of their companies' business potential. Since its establishment at the end of 2003, Xenia Venture Capital has invested in twenty companies, many of which have completed follow-on investments and have gone on to launch their sales efforts and form valuable international partnerships. Leading IT portfolio companies include, among others, Correlix, Arcos, BandWD, AdYouNet, Superfish, M-Photo, Intuview, and Playcast. In the medical devices field, Xenia has invested in BioProtect, PolyPid, NeatStitch, Medi-tate, ActiVein, NexSig, Slimedics, Xenolith and Ortho-Space, among others Please visit our website at: www.xenia.co.il

SOURCE Playcast