Company: Kontiki
Description: Provider of grid delivery technology for video, software and digital content.
Location: Sunnyvale
Amount Raised: $42.6 million
VC Firms: MK Capital, Adobe Ventures, Benchmark Capital, Barksdale Group, Verisign
VC Directors: Mark Koulogeorge, Mark Terbeek, Peter Currie, Standish O'Grady
Exit Type: Trade sale to Verisign Inc.
Exit Valuation: $62 million
Absolute Return: 45%
Memorable Quote: "Kontiki's competition has a smaller worldview centered on the distribution of one media or document type. Kontiki just has much better vision, and has a broader strategy that encompasses all media types to address a more diverse audience," said Dennis Marshall, former director of Adobe Ventures, in October 2002 after Kontiki's second round of funding.
Memorable Awards: Named a "Cool Vendor" by Gartner in 2004, Always On Top 100 List in 2003, Red Herring's "Ten to Watch List" in 2002
Quick Take: With its stealth mode launch by Mike Homer back in 2001 combined with its Marc Andreesen angel funding and Bill Campbell's seat on the board, this was supposed to end a lot better. Overall, the Verisign sale is a major disappointment. But, hey, some return is better than no return. And considering the list of competitors that once inhabited this segment – Blue Falcon Networks Inc., ChainCast Inc., Calif.; EverNet Inc., CenterSpan Communications Corp., Red Swoosh Inc., eMikolo Networks Inc., and Yaga Inc. -- $62 million doesn't look so bad. — Joshua Jaffe

For more on Kontiki's sale, see: Go to Verisign's press release

Technorati tags: kontiki, benchmark, adobe, barksdale, verisign, vc, venture capital