On 8 October 2012, Deezer announced that it had received $130 million in funding from Access Industries, to be used for further international expansion.[9] Two days later, the company announced that it had expanded into 76 new markets, bringing its worldwide total to 160 countries.[20] On 21 December, Deezer announced a new service level offering two hours of free, ad-supported music streaming a month, available to users worldwide, the company's first free music streaming service outside France.[21] CEO Dauchez said that Deezer was also looking for a partner to introduce service in the United States, who was "able to provide us with a significant volume of subscribers" to help offset what he called the "unbelievably high" costs of entering the US market.[21]