Dimension Data, the technology management services subsidiary of telecommunications firm NTT, led a $32m series C round for US-based video conferencing technology provider HighFive on Wednesday.
Venture capital firms Lightspeed Venture Partners, General Catalyst and Andreessen Horowitz also participated in the round.
HighFive produces video conferencing systems that are installed in the meeting rooms of its corporate clients. They include wireless screen projection and remote screen sharing, as well as high-quality audio and video equipment, and users can access it within a browser without requiring passwords or codes.
The series C funding will go to sales and marketing and an international expansion drive. Dimension Data invested as part of a global distribution deal it signed with the company.
Joe Manuele, Dimension Data’s executive vice-president of customer experience and collaboration, has joined Highfive’s board of directors in connection with its investment.
Manuele said: “Dimension Data’s footprint of collaboration clients across the globe gives us a unique view of the evolution of the market. We recognise a huge opportunity to grow the video conferencing addressable market by leveraging innovative cloud-based solutions.
“Highfive’s all-in-one solution solves an important challenge towards video conferencing ubiquity. We are pleased to be an investor and we are looking forward to delivering the solution to our clients as part of our distribution partnership.”
The round took HighFive’s total funding to $77.4m, $32m of which came in a 2015 series B round featuring GV, the corporate venturing unit formerly known as Google Ventures.
Lightspeed led the series B round, which included Andreessen Horowitz, General Catalyst, SV Angel and various angel investors. It followed a $13.5m series A round led by General Catalyst in 2013 and backed by GV and Andreessen Horowitz.