PacketVideo
San Diego, CA Why It’s Fierce: PacketVideo has become synonymous with the promise of streaming multimedia on mobile devices. The company's streaming video platform is fully compatible with almost any type of 2.5G or 3G network and is being incorporated in the network infrastructures of NTT DoCoMo (for its FOMA 3G network), Sprint PCS, Sonera, and SK Telecom. Handset manufacturers like Sony Ericsson and Nokia, meanwhile, are making their handsets compatible with its technology. PacketVideo boasts partnerships with Oracle, HP, and Sun, and closed one of the mobile Internet's all-time record VC rounds in March 2001 when it attracted nearly $100 million from Intel, Qualcomm, Motorola, and other investors. If streaming video is ever going to work on cellular networks, PacketVideo's technology will lead the way. The world will be watching. What to look for in 2003: Look for PacketVideo's technology to debut on more networks in Asia and Europe, especially if any additional 3G networks launch on either continent. Do not expect wireless multimedia and video phones to take hold in 2003; we will have to wait another few years. |
