| For Immediate Release: Feb 7, 2005 | Contact: Valerie Christopherson Bock Communications vchristopherson@bockpr.com 714-540-1030 |
WAVEMARKET SECURES $9.4 MILLION SERIES B FUNDING LED BY DRAPER FISHER JURVETSON
Capital Investment Will Drive Adoption of Crunkie and Location-based Alerts
EMERYVILLE, CA, Feb 7, 2005 – WaveMarket, (www.wavemarket.com), a pioneer in location-based and mobile blogging services, announced it has closed a Series B round of financing, securing $9.4 million in venture capital. Draper Fisher Jurvetson led the round, with existing investor BlueRun Ventures formerly known as Nokia Venture Partners also participating. WaveMarket will use the proceeds to drive the success of their Crunkie service (mobile location-based social network), alert solutions and location-based applications by providing concentrated support to their growing list of wireless carrier customers.
WaveMarket’s Board of Director’s welcomes the addition of new member, Andreas Stavropoulos, managing director of Draper Fisher Jurvetson. Stavropoulos said, “I was attracted to WaveMarket’s innovative approach to mobile location services. They transform underachieving LBS into location-aware social networks and dynamic blog-based city guides. Furthermore, they have unique technology that allows parents to create protective ‘geofences’ around their children.” He also said that “this is the gutsy and aggressive type of entrepreneurial team that Draper Fisher Jurvetson proudly backs.”
Peter Buhl, partner at BlueRun Ventures (formerly Nokia Venture Partners), added that after "Having worked with WaveMarket since 2002, we have seen the team’s revolutionary approach to location services become a reality with deployments at SK Telecom, Bell Mobility and AT&T Wireless. The team has a proven record of innovation and execution.”
“We are very excited about adding Draper Fisher Jurvetson. DFJ’s expertise on media business models and viral networks are vital to our success” said Tasso Roumeliotis, CEO of WaveMarket. “BlueRun Ventures has shown its unparalleled acumen of wireless over the last three years and we are proud to expand our relationship with them. The investment allows WaveMarket to expand sales, customer support and engineering resources to meet the demand for WaveMarket’s products, WaveIQ™, and will accelerate our efforts to convert any mobile phone into an on-location broadcaster.”
WaveIQ consists of three software products, each available now:
- Crunkie—a location-aware mobile social network that allows friends to locate each other as well as share location-tagged blog posts.
- Map.Me—a mobile phone map interface that allows users to pan/zoom and experience dynamic mobile city guides.
- WaveAlert—server that allows users to be notified whenever they enter or leave a designated area – proximity-based alerts. Set “geofences” around important assets or be notified if your friends are nearby.
About Draper Fisher Jurvetson
Draper Fisher Jurvetson is the premier early stage venture capital firm. Founded in 1985, Draper Fisher Jurvetson has created a global network of affiliated venture funds with over $3 billion in capital commitments and offices in the major technology centers around the world. Headquartered in Silicon Valley, the firm has proven expertise in identifying and helping extraordinary entrepreneurs who want to change the world.
About BlueRun Ventures
Launched in 1998 as Nokia Venture Partners, BlueRun Ventures is a leading early stage venture capital fund. BlueRun Ventures’ proven approach is to invest globally as a single fund in best of breed technologies, and teams with the drive and ability to build leading global companies. BlueRun Ventures is headquartered in Menlo Park, California, with offices in Helsinki, Herzelia (Israel), London, New Delhi, Seoul, Shanghai, Tokyo, and Washington, D.C. For more information, visit www.brv.com.
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