Vivox

Vixox, Inc.
Type Privately held
Industry Video games, Voip
Founded 2005
Headquarters Natick, Massachusetts, United States
Key people Rob Seaver, CEO
James Toga, COO
Monty Sharma, Vice President Product Management and Marketing
Dave Verratti, Vice President Professional Services
Products Precision Studio
Web Voice
Vivox Voice on Facebook
Revenue Unknown
Employees Unknown
Website www.vivox.com

Vivox, Inc. specifically provides managed communication services in the form of integrated voice chat, Instant Messaging (IM) and presence to online games, virtual worlds and other online communities. Headquartered in Natick, Massachusetts, United States, its most publicized customers include Second Life made by Linden Lab,[1] EVE Online made by CCP Games,[2] and Combat Arms made by Nexon Corporation.[3] All three have integrated voice into their products.

Contents

History

Vivox was founded by Jeff Pulver in the Fall of 2005. On September 19, 2005 Vivox announced that they had received $6 million in venture capital funding from Canaan Partners and GrandBanks Capital.[4]

On November 13, 2007 Vivox announced that they had secured $7.8 million in series B financing.[5] The B round financing was led by Benchmark Capital and supported by existing investors Canaan Partners and GrandBanks Capital. With the support of Benchmark Capital, former CEO of JAMDAT Mobile, Mitch Lasky was added to the Vivox board of directors.

On February 2, 2010 Vivox announced that they had raised $6.8 Million in funding for their C round. The round was led by IDG Ventures and included follow on investment from existing investors, Benchmark Capital, Canaan Partners and GrandBanks Capital. In addition IDG Ventures, Managing Director, Phil Sanderson joined the Vivox Board.[6]

Major Announcements

On May 10, 2006 CCP Games and Vivox announced that EVE Online players would have real-time, in-game voice communication as the result of an agreement between the two companies. Vivox provided CCP with an integrated solution that allows players to speak with each other in-game, create audio conference channels for their gang, corporation or alliance.[7]

February 27, 2007 Vivox announced a partnership with Linden Labs and that they would provide integrated voice communications to the Second Life Grid. This included spatial audio that allows residents to hear each other based on their positions. This technology was licensed from DiamondWare Technologies.[8]

During the 2008 Game Developers Conference in San Francisco, California, Vivox announced a partnership with Sony Online Entertainment.[9] The agreement between the two companies brought integrated voice chat into all existing and planned SOE products including SOE's out of game communication application, Station Launcher.[9] At this point the SOE games that include Vivox Voice are: Everquest, APB, Everquest 2, and Star Wars Galaxies

On May 13, 2008 Vivox and NCsoft announced a partnership that would bring voice to the NCsoft player community.[10]

September 16, 2008 it was announced that Vivox would provide voice technology for 38 Studios upcoming MMO.[11]

March 24, 2009 Vivox and Real Time Worlds declared that Vivox would provide voice for Real Time Worlds' MMO, APB. To be included in this integration is use of Vivox's spatial 3D voice capabilities.[12]

Integrations

Online Games and Virtual Worlds

Known integrations of Vivox's communications platform in online games and virtual worlds.

Company Product Status
CCP Games[2] EVE Online Live
Nexon Corporation[13] Combat Arms Live
Linden Lab[1] Second Life Live
Sony Online Entertainment[9] EverQuest Live
Sony Online Entertainment[9] EverQuest II Live
Sony Online Entertainment[9] Star Wars Galaxies Live
Electronic Arts[14] Command & Conquer 4 Live
IMVU[15] IMVU Live
Runewaker Entertainment[16] Runes of Magic Live
Hi-Rez Studios[17] Global Agenda Live
Gaia Online[18] zOMG! Live
CyberSports[19] Football Superstars Live
Icarus Studios[20] Fallen Earth Live
Metaversum[21] Twinity Live
Realtime Worlds APB Early Release
Bigpoint Games[22] BigPoint N/A (TBD)
NCsoft[23] TBD N/A (TBD)
Wizards of the Coast[24] Dungeons & Dragons Insider N/A (TBD)
Gamersfirst War Rock Removed

Middleware Platforms

Known middleware integrations of Vivox's communications platform.

Company Product
BigWorld Technology[25] BigWorld Technology Suite
Icarus Studios[26] Icarus Developer Tools Suite
Monumental Games[27] Monumental Technology Suite
Multiverse Network[28][29] Multiverse Platform
Simutronics[21] HeroEngine

Board of directors

[30]

Title Name Company
Chairman Jeff Pulver pulver.com
Member Mike Baxter DataXu
Member Ryan Moore GrandBanks Capital
Member Mitch Lasky Benchmark Capital
Member Warren Lee Canaan Partners
Member Phil Sanderson IDG Ventures SF

Awards and Commendations

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Vivox Press Release February 27, 2007: Vivox Gives Voice to Second Life . Retrieved October 29, 2007.
  2. ^ a b Vivox Press Release May 10, 2006: Eve Online Screams with Vivox Real-Time Voice Technology . Retrieved October 29, 2007.
  3. ^ "Vivox". Vivox. November 16, 2009. http://www.vivox.com/press-releases-detail.php?id=47. Retrieved May 30, 2010. 
  4. ^ Vivox Press Release September 19, 2005: Vivox Emerges from Pulver.com; Announces $6 Million in Venture Capital Funding . Retrieved October 30, 2007.
  5. ^ Vivox Press Release November 13, 2007: Vivox, Inc. Secures $7.8 Million in Series B Financing . Retrieved February 13, 2008.
  6. ^ "Vivox". Vivox. February 2, 2010. http://www.vivox.com/press-releases-detail.php?id=48. Retrieved May 30, 2010. 
  7. ^ CCP. "Press Releases". EVE Online. http://www.eveonline.com/pressreleases/default.asp?pressReleaseID=23. Retrieved May 30, 2010. 
  8. ^ "Vivox". Vivox. February 27, 2007. http://www.vivox.com/press-releases-detail.php?id=17. Retrieved May 30, 2010. 
  9. ^ a b c d e Vivox Press Release February 20, 2008: Ma Bell, Meet Joe Gamer: Sony Online Entertainment Ushers in New Era of Voice Chat for Online Games with Powerful Suite of Communication Services . Retrieved March 4, 2008.
  10. ^ "News – NCsoft, Vivox Partner For Voice Middleware Deal". Gamasutra. May 13, 2008. http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=18618. Retrieved May 30, 2010. 
  11. ^ "Vivox to Provide Voice Technology for 38 Studios' Upcoming Online Entertainment Experience". 38studios.com. September 16, 2008. http://www.38studios.com/news/press_show/19. Retrieved May 30, 2010. 
  12. ^ "All Points Bulletin – Vivox Adds Voice to APB". MMORPG.com. http://www.mmorpg.com/gamelist.cfm/loadNews/13336/Vivox-Adds-Voice-to-APB. Retrieved May 30, 2010. 
  13. ^ [1] . Retrieved November 26, 2009.
  14. ^ "Vivox, Bringer of Voice to Virtual Worlds, Strikes Major Deal with Electronic Arts". Xconomy. September 15, 2009. http://www.xconomy.com/boston/2009/09/15/vivox-bringer-of-voice-to-virtual-worlds-strikes-major-deal-with-electronic-arts/. Retrieved May 30, 2010. 
  15. ^ "IMVU Adds Voice From Vivox". Virtual Worlds News. March 11, 2010. http://www.virtualworldsnews.com/2010/03/imvu-adds-voice-from-vivox.html. Retrieved May 30, 2010. 
  16. ^ "'Runes of Magic' Integrates Vivox Voice Chat". Worthplaying. March 8, 2010. http://worthplaying.com/article/2010/3/8/news/72895/. Retrieved May 30, 2010. 
  17. ^ "Global Agenda to feature Vivox voice integration". Massively. November 10, 2009. http://www.massively.com/2009/11/10/global-agenda-to-feature-vivox-voice-integration/. Retrieved May 30, 2010. 
  18. ^ "'zOMG!' Adds Vivox Voice Chat". Worthplaying. October 19, 2009. http://worthplaying.com/article/2009/10/19/news/69477/. Retrieved May 30, 2010. 
  19. ^ Vivox Press Release June 10, 2008: CyberSports Ltd. Scores with Voice from Vivox . Retrieved June 13, 2008.
  20. ^ Vivox Press Release September 5, 2006: Vivox Gives Voice to the Battle for Fallen Earth . Retrieved October 30, 2007.
  21. ^ a b Vivox Press Release February 13, 2008: Metaversum, Simutronics & Stratics Select Vivox for Integrated Voice . Retrieved February 13, 2008.
  22. ^ "BigPoint, Vivox Games Announces Voice Chat on Social Games". Socialtimes.com. February 10, 2010. http://www.socialtimes.com/2010/02/bigpoint-vivox-games-announces-voice-chat-on-social-games/. Retrieved May 30, 2010. 
  23. ^ Vivox Press Release May 13, 2008: NCsoft and Vivox Announce Collaboration to Bring Voice to the NCsoft Player Community . Retrieved June 13, 2008.
  24. ^ Vivox Press Release August 21, 2007: Vivox Powers Voice Chat for Wizards of the Coast's New Dungeons & Dragons Insider . Retrieved October 29, 2007.
  25. ^ Vivox Press Release September 5, 2006: Vivox and BigWord Pty Ltd Announce Partnership . Retrieved October 30, 2007.
  26. ^ Vivox Press Release June 5, 2007: Icarus Studios Selects Vivox to Deliver Voice to 3D Online Worlds . Retrieved October 30, 2007.
  27. ^ Vivox Press Release May 8, 2007: Monumental Games Chooses Vivox to Deliver Proven and Scalable Voice to MMOG Customers . Retrieved October 30, 2007.
  28. ^ Vivox Press Release April 1, 2008: Multiverse Selects Vivox to Deliver Voice to Virtual World Developers . Retrieved April 1, 2008.
  29. ^ Gamasutra Product News April 1, 2008: Multiverse Adds Vivox To Virtual World Platform . Retrieved April 1, 2008.
  30. ^ "Vivox". Vivox. February 12, 2004. http://www.vivox.com/board-of-directors.html. Retrieved May 30, 2010. 
  31. ^ Lead411 launches "Hottest Boston Companies" awards
  32. ^ a b Top 20 Most Influential People in MMOs April 1, 2008 (Retrieved May 28, 2008)
  33. ^ CMP's Game Developer Magazine 2007 Front Line Award Winners January 8, 2008 . Retrieved January 10, 2008.
  34. ^ AlwaysOn 100 Top Companies July 17, 2007 . Retrieved November 9, 2007. Archived October 26, 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  35. ^ Vivox Press Release July 31, 200: Vivox Selected by AlwaysOn as an AO100 Top Private Company Award Winner . Retrieved November 9, 2007.
  36. ^ "VivoxÂŽ Selected by AlwaysOn as a Northeast 100 Top Private Company Award Winner | Business Wire | Find Articles at BNET". Findarticles.com. April 2, 2008. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0EIN/is_2008_April_2/ai_n24968049/. Retrieved May 30, 2010. 
  37. ^ 2007 Pulver 100 2007 . Retrieved April 1, 2008.
  38. ^ Red Herring 100 North America May 2006 . Retrieved November 9, 2007.
  39. ^ Vivox Press Release May 22, 2006: Vivox Named a Red Herring 100 Winner . Retrieved November 9, 2007.
  40. ^ Business 2.0 Next Net 25 2006 . Retrieved November 9, 2007.
  41. ^ Vivox Press Release February 28, 2006: Business 2.0 Selects Vivox for the Next Net 25 List . Retrieved November 9, 2007.
  42. ^ Companies Recognized For Innovation and Leadership in Video Gaming September 16, 2006: FierceGameBiz Announces Top 15 Emerging Video Gaming Companies . Retrieved April 1, 2008.

External links