03/04/2008
Mobile Marketer Zoove Dials Up $15.7M Series B
Portfolio Company: Zoove Corp.
By Timothy Hay
Zoove Corp., maker of a hardware-software package that lets mobile-phone users get online by dialing up Web sites using short codes, has raised a $15.7 million Series B round.
"We had interest above and beyond that amount," said Chief Executive Timothy Jemison. "[Our product] is a very big opportunity to solve a pain point in the market - accessing the Internet from non-smart phone devices."
Return investors Cardinal Venture Capital and WorldView Technology Partners, as well as newcomer Highland Capital Partners, took part in the round.
While most mobile-technology developers are concentrating on developing the perfect smart phone - which combines telephony with an Internet browser, games, social networking and other features - more than 90 percent of consumers still use a simple flip phone, Jemison said.
Zoove offers a tweak on traditional "short codes" - numbers used as addresses for text messages. The company's "StarStar" dialing system allows mobile users to dial up Web sites by entering "**" and then a short keyword. The user can then gain quick though limited access to Web sites.
"This is a hardware-software appliance bundled as a service," Jemison said, adding that no other companies were working on a similar product.
Based in Palo Alto, Calif., Zoove is partnered with carriers in China and the U.S., and is being used by advertisers who want to give customers an easy way to take advantage of promotions that are sent to mobile devices.
The company generates revenue from content providers through a pay-per-transaction model.
Jemison declined to say how the Series B would be spent, and also declined to discuss the company's valuation.
The round brings Managing General Partner Sean Dalton of Highland Capital Partners to the company's board, Jemison said.
Zoove raised a $6.5 million Series A in July 2006 from Worldview Technology Partners and Cardinal Venture Capital, according to VentureWire records.
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"Cardinal has acted as a true partner to Mobilygen from the beginning, collaborating with us on our strategy, goals and direction and providing both support and capital."
Joseph Perl
CEO, Mobilygen |
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