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Speakanet Secures 10 Million USD to Expand Internationally.
COPENHAGEN, Denmark, November 6 /PRNewswire/ -- Speakanet, the leader in 100% mobile, business telephone systems, today
announced it has secured an additional round of US$10m in funding from
current investors Northzone Ventures, Eqvitec Partners and new investor Via
Venture Partners. The funds will be used to support its strong customer
growth in Denmark and expand internationally.
Speakanet's solutions leapfrog today's telephone systems, whether
conventional or VoIP based, with a 100% mobile, business telephone system
that requires no hardware, no investment and significantly lowers total costs
of telephony for businesses of all sizes (http://www.speakanet.com).
Having acquired over 15,000 business users in its Danish home market,
Speakanet is now planning to enter several new markets including the UK and
Switzerland.
Francois Mazoudier, CEO explains: "The past 18 months have been critical
for the company. We have achieved solid domestic growth, completed the new,
category defining platform, and built a healthy pipeline of opportunities in
key international markets. With this technology advantage and proven demand
for the solution, it is now time to start planning an accelerated
international rollout. These funds will allow us to do that."
Jakob Rybak-Andersen from Via comments: "We are very excited about
Speakanet's potential. The entire office telephony market, worth around 8
billion USD a year, is going through dramatic changes - most businesses today
are re-evaluating their core needs, which always include providing mobility
to their employees. Speakanet's solution and its patented technology make it
an obvious choice to answer those needs."
Arve Johan-Andresen from Northzone Ventures adds: "Similarly to CRM and
voicemail, office telephony is poised to become a network-enabled service and
Speakanet is spearheading this trend. This new round of funding cements
Speakanet's leadership position and will allow the company to accelerate and
grow into international markets in a category defining manner. We have been
actively involved with Speakanet since 2004 and are very excited that the
company, with this new funding round, has reached a very important
milestone."
Jukka Häyrynen of Eqvitec Partners comments: "Speakanet is an exciting
example of a company proving its offering in the Nordic "laboratory market"
and then rolling out to international markets. The flexible business model
and disruptive offering for business telephony give a solid base for
expansion. This funding round enables Speakanet to really scale up its
international business."
About Speakanet
Speakanet was founded in 2001, is headquartered in Copenhagen, Denmark,
with teams in London, UK and Prague, Czech Republic. The company was hailed
best Start-up in Ernst & Young's prestigious Entrepreneur Of The Year in the
2005 competition, and was labelled Cool Vendor of the Year by Gartner Group
in 2007.
The Speakanet solution replaces conventional telephone systems (either
analogue or VoIP-based) with a 100% mobile, hardware-free, self-provisioned
and web-enabled solution. Employees use a standard GSM mobile phone and the
receptionist uses the Speakanet software switchboard. The entire system is
provisioned and activated in minutes, and is simple enough to be used by
customers without any technical staff or employee training. Companies no
longer need to purchase, install, manage, upgrade and support their own
telecoms infrastructure in the office - a significant saving in hardware,
office cabling, handsets, telecoms rooms and other expensive telecoms
specialists.
About Speakanet's investors
Northzone Ventures (http://www.northzone.com) is a leading Nordic
technology venture capital firm. The firm has 9 partners located in offices
in Copenhagen, Oslo, and Stockholm, and has invested in more than 60
companies across the Nordic region, since it was founded in 1996. Northzone
currently manages EUR 325 million committed by leading international private
equity investors.
Via Venture Partners (http://www.viaventurepartners.com) is a EUR 134
million multi stage venture fund investing in exceptional companies in the
Nordic region. Founded in early 2006, Via Venture Partners is a privately
owned and independent Nordic software and communication venture capital firm.
Via Venture Partners Limited Partner is ATP, who manages Danish pension
savings in excess of DKK 400 billion.
Eqvitec Partners (http://www.eqvitec.com) is a technology focused venture
capital firm active in the Nordic countries. The company was founded in 1997
and employs 14 investments professionals in Helsinki and Stockholm. Eqvitec
Partners advises 5 funds with a total capital base of 440 million euros. The
funds invest in companies from start-up to later-stage phases supporting them
in their development and expansion.
Speakanet
For further information please contact: Speakanet, François Mazoudier, CEO, +44-797-345-1881, Chris Sayer, Marketing Director, +44-776-695-1065, press@speakanet.com.
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