Peacock Equity, a $250m corporate venturing fund of listed conglomerate General Electric and broadcaster NBC Universal, has invested $2m in Vivox, a US-based provider of voice services for social applications, as a new member of the venture consortium.
Brian Keil, managing director of Peacock Equity, said: "With online communities already in place for much of NBC Universal’s content, we have some compelling opportunities to implement Vivox voice chat services to create a higher level of engagement among fans."
Vivox has previously raised $20.6m from venture capital firms Benchmark Capital, Canaan Partners, GrandBanks Capital and IDG Ventures, the $3.7bn corporate venturing division of US-based technology publisher International Data Group.
The $6.8m series C round for Vivox was closed in February led by IDG Ventures.
At the time, Phil Sanderson, managing director of IDG Ventures in San Francisco and newly appointed Vivox board member, said: "Vivox has proven the community building value and revenue potential of voice in online activities, enabling millions of people to connect with one another – whether in a multiplayer game, in a virtual world or on Facebook."
Vivox has 30 million users in more than 180 countries talking for over 2 billion minutes per month on its system.