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Funambol, the Mobile Open Source Software Company, Secures $5 Million Funding Round
SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 8 /PRNewswire/ -- Funambol, the mobile open source software company, today announced the closing of a $5 million series-A funding round led by venture capital firms Walden International and H.I.G. Ventures. The funding will be used to expand Funambol's engineering, sales and marketing operations.
Funambol is the first commercial provider of mobile open source software targeting the $300 billion mobile market. Funambol provides software and support for Sync4j, an open source mobile application server that supports the Open Mobile Alliance Data Synchronization and Device Management standards (OMA DS/DM, but popularly called SyncML) that drive data mobility between devices, applications, servers, and networks. Companies already using Funambol's products and services include one of the world's largest industrial conglomerates, Europe's largest network operator and Nokia, the global leader in mobility.
"We're investing in Funambol because we see the opportunity for open source software to stimulate the same enormous creative energy of new services and products for the mobile market that it spawned for the Internet," said Mary Coleman, managing director of Walden International and director at Funambol. "Just as the adoption of open standards on the Internet was accelerated by open source, Funambol's mobile application server is emerging as the open standard used to synchronize applications and services, making possible device management across the entire wireless industry."
Funambol's Sync4j mobile application server, with more than 18,000 downloads a month, is the leading open source implementation of OMA DS/DM, or SyncML. This open standard is already shipping in more than 200 different types of handsets, including those from Alcatel, Ericsson, Motorola, NEC, Nokia, Panasonic, Samsung, Siemens and SonyEricsson. In the U.S. alone, more than 80 percent of the handsets shipped in 2005 will support this open standard.
"Open source technologies have changed the landscape for a number of industries by dramatically reducing costs for vendors and consumers alike, with significant increases in compatibility and return on investments," said Fred Sturgis, managing director, H.I.G Ventures, and director at Funambol. "Companies in the mobile industry are just beginning to look at how open source can impact their business models and results. Funambol can leverage its early-mover status to help drive innovation in the market."
"We believe that only open source software implementations of industry standards like OMA DS/DM can drive consensus among the mobile device manufacturers and carriers," said Fabrizio Capobianco, CEO of Funambol. "The promise of Sync4j is on-the-fly provisioning and data synchronization -- for group calendaring, email, sports scores, contact information, and field force automation -- for all your computers and mobile devices all the time, on any wireless network."
About Funambol
Funambol is the company behind Sync4j, the world-leading open source mobile application server. Sync4j is the open standard solution for the development, software provisioning and management of all wireless services: data synchronization, remote device management and application provisioning. Funambol provides customers with commercial licensing for Sync4j, and support and custom development to fulfill all mobility needs. Sync4j supports the Open Mobile Alliance Data Synchronization and Device Management standards (OMA DS/DM) also known as SyncML. Funambol is headquartered in Redwood City, California with a development center and a sales office in Italy. For more information, contact us at info@funambol.com, or by visiting http://www.funambol.com/ and http://www.sync4j.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 nine 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 H.I.G. Ventures
H.I.G. Ventures is the venture capital affiliate of H.I.G. Capital, a leading private equity and venture capital investment firm with more than $2 billion of equity capital under management. The firm's dedicated venture capital team is currently investing a $300 million fund in early and mid-stage information technology and life sciences businesses that are poised for significant growth. With offices in Atlanta, Boston, Miami and San Francisco, H.I.G Ventures invests nationally in market-leading companies. The firm's leveraged buyout counterpart, H.I.G. Capital, is one of the most successful private equity funds in the country with a focus on the lower middle market. For more information, see http://www.higventures.com/.
Media Contacts:
Jennifer Cloer for Funambol
Page One PR
503-547-9451
jennifer@pageonepr.com
Funambol
CONTACT: Jennifer Cloer of Page One PR for Funambol, +1-503-547-9451,jennifer@pageonepr.com
Web site: http://www.funambol.com/http://www.sync4j.com/http://www.waldenintl.com/http://w
ww.higventures.com/
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