Followap announces a $2 million investment by Siemens' Mustang Ventures
Siemens' venture arm invests $2 million, on top of the $10 million Carmel Ventures round closed in January, alongside a commercial partnership to integrate iFollow into Siemens IC Mobile's offering.
Siemens' investment follows a previous $10M investment round of leading VCs earlier this year.
New York, NY.
- June 5th, 2001 - Followap™, the leading provider of Instant Messaging Presence and Location (IMPL) platforms and solutions for mobile operators, today announced a $2 million investment by Mustang Ventures, the corporate venture arm of Siemens Information and Communications.
Mustang Ventures follows a previous $10M investment led by Carmel Ventures earlier this year. In parallel to this investment, Siemens Information and Communication Mobile Group (IC Mobile) has established a commercial partnership with Followap for integrating its product, iFollow™, into Siemens IC Mobile's existing and future mobile offering. In addition, Siemens IC Mobile plans to integrate iFollow in the strategy for its application framework for Mobile Solutions, the Open Mobile Internet Platform (OMIP).
Followap enables mobile operators to extend their Short Messaging Service (SMS) capabilities to a friendly, full-featured Mobile Instant Messaging (MIM) system that will attract new subscribers and boost operator revenues. Followap offers a variety of IMPL solutions that enable mobile phone users to contact their friends and chat with each other according to personal "buddy lists" and communities, depending on the availability, presence and location of the counterpart(s).
"We believe that Followap is uniquely positioned to be the leader in providing Mobile Instant Messaging solutions and become the standard for IMPL platforms." said Thorsten Heins, President of Solutions within the Information and Communication Mobile Group.
"We have been impressed by the company's ability to foresee specific market needs and the speed with which it fulfils them with innovative technology and customized solutions".
"We are confident that Siemens' support of our vision will enable us to bring our proven IMPL technology into leading carriers worldwide." said Tommy Volsen, COO of Followap. " Siemens IC Mobile has delivered a clear vote of confidence in Followap's leadership role in the Mobile Instant Messaging market place."
About Siemens Information and Communication
Mobile Group The Siemens Information and Communication Mobile Group (IC Mobile) offers the complete range of mobile solutions including mobile devices, infrastructure and applications. Devices include mobile phones, wireless modules, mobile organizers, cordless and corded phones as well as products for wireless home networks. The infrastructure portfolio includes the complete range of mobile network technologies from base stations and switching systems to intelligent networks, e.g. for prepaid services. Applications cover UMTS services for Unified Messaging, Location Based Services, and Mobile Payment.
For the fiscal year 2000 (which ended September 30, 2000), IC Mobile recorded sales of EUR 9 billion and EBIT of EUR 758 million. The group employs 27,450 employees worldwide. For further information about Siemens IC Mobile, please visit our homepage: http://www.siemens.de/mobile
About Followap
Followap is the leading provider of Mobile Instant Messaging Presence and Location (IMPL) platforms for mobile operators. Its flagship product, iFollow, has become the world's first commercially installed IMPL platform in December 2000, when it was launched within Ireland's Eircell Network as its branded e-merge Messenger service. Additional installations and pilot trials of iFollow are currently underway in 15 countries, with additional commercial launches at the world's largest mobile operators expected in the coming months.
With significant telecom and datacom experience, Followap is constantly extending its core technology in new directions and continues introducing additional scalable and reliable telecom-grade products that provide state-of-the-art messaging services to subscribers while incorporating essential carrier interfaces, such as network management, Customer Relationship Management (CRM), billing and more.
Headquartered in the USA, the company has an R&D center in Israel, as well as sales and support offices throughout the world. Followap offers full customization and integration services to address the specific requirements of its customers and provides extensive technical support and consulting services.