Retail giant Walmart has signed a joint venture with Eko, a developer of interactive video content, to attract shoppers and boost customer engagement, and will invest $250 million in the venture as well as a funding round, Reuters reported.
W*E Interactive Ventures will develop interactive content spanning toy catalogs to cooking shows.
The move broadens Walmart’s entertainment offerings, which include its video-on-demand service Vudu and recently launched ebooks platform called Walmart ebooks.
Earlier this week, the US-based retailer with global e-commerce presence has signed a partnership with movie studio Metro Goldwyn Mayer to create content for Vudu and prop up the service’s viewership.
Eko has previously received funding from investors like Sequoia Capital, Intel Capital, Warner Music Group Corp, Samsung, Walmart, and others, and has more than 15 patents for its technology.
