fastmobile Secures US$12 Million in Series B Funding
Kent, United Kingdom (ots/PRNewswire)
fastmobile, a leader in mobile instant communications solutions, announced today that it has raised US$12 million in Series B financing to fund the growth and expansion of its product commercialization and global sales activities. This round brings fastmobile's total funding to more than US$21 million.
The Series B financing was co-led by DCM - Doll Capital Management and Walden International and included participation by existing investors Leo Capital Holdings and BlueStar Ventures. Dixon Doll, cofounder and managing general partner of DCM, and Andrew Kau, managing director of Walden International, will join fastmobile's board of directors.
fastmobile's Chief Executive Officer, Kang Lee, said, "The last several quarters have seen fastmobile achieve significant new product introductions and customer wins around the world. This investment enables us to fully exploit the exciting opportunities in front of us and we're pleased to have the world class firms of DCM and Walden International as new investors in the company." Lee added that the Company's growth plans include hiring additional staff at their UK office.
fastmobile's solution offerings extend from multimedia Instant Messaging and presence-based address book applications to instant media and content exchange and multimedia blogging and community applications. The company's products are currently offered by operators and service providers in China, South Korea, India, Sri-Lanka, Germany, and Italy.
"Advanced mobile data services have become a key point of competitive differentiation for network operators, mobile virtual network operators and other branded service providers worldwide," said DCM's Dixon Doll. "fastmobile's innovative products deliver the kind of exceptional end-user experience their operator and service provider customers need in order to drive strong revenues from these services."
All solutions are customized to offer mobile network operators and service providers the ability to deliver branded, differentiated value-added data services on a wide range of handset platforms that includes Symbian Series 60 and UIQ, Microsoft Pocket PC and Smartphone, J2ME, and Brew.
Walden International's Andrew Kau added, "We have been impressed by both the products and customer traction fastmobile has achieved and we are delighted to be backing this excellent team."
"Representing the company's existing investors, I am pleased to welcome DCM and Walden International as investors in a great company," said Randy Rissman, Managing Director of Leo Capital Holdings. "As a highly respected figure in the telecommunications industry, we greatly value the contribution that DCM's Dixon Doll brings to fastmobile. Together with Andrew Kau's rich leadership experience, their appointment to the company's board of directors adds significantly to the company's strategic position moving forward."
About fastmobile
fastmobile Inc. is a recognized global leader in the development, hosting, and delivery of value-added instant communication services over GPRS and other 2.5G and 3G mobile networks. fastmobile offers operators and service providers innovative services that drive incremental ARPU and fully leverage existing service and infrastructure investment to deliver higher ROI. fastmobile has operations in the US, Europe, and Asia.
About DCM - Doll Capital Management
DCM is a top-performing venture capital firm supporting entrepreneurs building early-stage technology companies. DCM partners manage over US$1billion and have funded leading technology companies including 2Wire, 51job, About.com (Primedia), @Motion (Openwave), Foundry Networks, HireRight, Internap, IPivot (Intel), JCI, Kabu.com, nQuire (Siebel), PGP Corporation, Recourse Technologies (Symantec), Sigmatel, SMIC, and UUNet (MCI). DCM offers hands-on operational guidance and access to an extensive network of resources, including close relationships with many of the Pacific Rim's leading companies and investors. For more information, please visit DCM's website at http://www.dcmvc.com .
About Walden International
Walden International ("WI") is a leading international venture
capital firm that has been providing investors access to early-stage,
cross-border, IT opportunities with the advantage of an unrivaled Pan
Asia network since 1987. The firm's funds total over US$1.5 billion
in committed capital. WI's network of multi-cultural professionals
spans China/Hong Kong, India, Japan, Malaysia, the Philippines,
Singapore, Taiwan and the United States. With over 100 years of
combined experience, WI's investment team has funded leading
technology companies including Creative Technology, Leadis
Technology, SINA, and SMIC. With 9 offices throughout Asia and the
United States, the firm has extensive network relationships with
major institutions, Asia governmental entities, strategic investors,
and entrepreneurs throughout the Pan Asia region. For information,
please visit http://www.waldenintl.com .About Leo Capital Holdings
Leo Capital Holdings, LLC is a Chicago-based private equity company focused on early stage investments in wireless, telecommunications, semiconductors and the Internet. Portfolio companies include 422 Inc., Epiworks, FunMail, and NetNearU Corp. For more information, please visit Leo Capital's Web Site at http://www.leocapholdings.com .
About BlueStar Ventures
BlueStar Ventures, L.P. is a Chicago-based private equity investment fund focusing its capital, time and other resources on early stage investments in technology and telecommunications companies. BlueStar's portfolio includes NetNearU Corp., nii communications and SurePayroll. For more information, please visit BlueStar's Web Site at http://www.bluestarventures.com .
Web site: http://www.fastmobile.com http://www.dcmvc.com http://www.waldenintl.com http://www.leocapholdings.com http://www.bluestarventures.com
Contact:
John O'Boyle of fastmobile, +44-1732-861-463, media@fastmobile.com ,
or June Parina, June@blueshirtgroup.com , or Jenny Spitz,
Jenny@blueshirtgroup.com, both of The Blueshirt Group for DCM,
+1-415-217-7722