CDN sector draws more investment interest

The content delivery network sector remains a hot source of headlines as two more CDN companies made investment-related announcements. First, GridNetworks, a company that uses CDN technology in combination with peer-to-peer software to support an online video content download service, acknowledged that Cisco Systems took part in a $9.5 million financing round that involved multiple investors. That funding was first announced last fall. It remains unclear whether Cisco wants to use GridNetworks' software in some way, though Light Reading's Cable Digital News speculates on where it might do that.

Second, six-year-old company Highwinds Network Group landed $55 million in funding from General Catalyst Partners and Alta Communications. Highwinds was a provider of IP transport and storage services before making a move into the CDN space. Both financing announcements demonstrate the extent to which CDN companies continue to garner financial and strategic interest as carriers get involved in the business and other CDN firms sue the pants off one another.

For more:
- read this piece [1] about GridNetworks at Light Reading's Cable Digital News
- see this post [2] about Highwinds at Light Reading's Contentinople

Related articles:
- The CDN players have spent a lot of time engaged in patent infringement [3]spats
- Highwinds has formed a video delivery partnership Article [4]