TCV Pours $56M Into InPhonicTCV Pours $56M Into InPhonic

Technology Crossover Ventures invests $56M in InPhonic, which puts TCV partner Jay Hoag, RAF Industries CEO Bob Fox, and Jack Kemp on board

June 30, 2003

3 Min Read

WASHINGTON -- InPhonic Inc. today announced that Silicon Valley-based Technology Crossover Ventures (TCV), a leading provider of growth capital to late-stage private and public technology companies, has invested $56 million in the company. The deal signals a growing investor confidence in the technology sector and in InPhonic's growth potential in the market. The company also announced several high-profile additions to its board of directors including former vice presidential candidate Jack Kemp, co-founding partner of TCV Jay Hoag and CEO of RAF Industries Bob Fox.

"We are extraordinarily excited to be involved with a clear market leader in an explosive growth market," said Jay Hoag, co-founder of TCV. "As was true in our experience with Expedia and Netflix, we believe InPhonic has an enormous opportunity in facilitating the shift of the wireless services market from offline to online. We look forward to working closely with the management team to capitalize on this opportunity."

InPhonic is a full-service provider of wireless voice and data communication solutions for enterprises, online businesses, national retailers and their end-users. In addition to its online device activation and distribution business, InPhonic is helping businesses and carriers develop and deploy new revenue-generating opportunities including private-label wireless services.

"We have built a significant business as a leading provider of wireless distribution on the Internet with a network of over 5,000 clients and affiliates," said David Steinberg, CEO of InPhonic. "This investment validates the success of our current business while demonstrating TCV's confidence in our future growth potential and that of the wireless market. With this investment, we are well positioned to continue that growth and own the wireless distribution space."

InPhonic has attracted a significant group of technology luminaries to its board of directors such as Vice Chairman John Sculley, the former CEO of Apple Computer and Pepsi-Cola Company. The newest additions include Jay Hoag, who is TCV's co-founding partner and also sits on the boards of Expedia and Netflix, former vice presidential candidate, U.S. Congressman and Oracle board member Jack Kemp, and CEO of RAF Industries, Inc., Bob Fox. In addition to his many accomplishments in government, Jack Kemp is co-founder of Empower America, Inc., an organization devoted to ensuring that government actions foster growth, economic well-being, freedom and individual responsibility. Prior to founding RAF, Bob Fox was CEO of Warner Company, a NYSE-listed company.

"InPhonic's ability to raise a significant amount of funding in today's tightened economy demonstrates the company has built a unique and successful business model in the wireless sector with enormous future potential," said John Sculley, vice chairman of InPhonic. "InPhonic continues to strengthen its leadership in wireless by bringing together luminaries who have demonstrated a keen sense of technology's future and a business and marketing acumen."

Of the $56 million invested by TCV, a percentage is structured as the purchase of existing, privately-held shares of InPhonic with a smaller portion of the funding pending the approval of a Hart-Scott-Rodino filing.

InPhonic Inc.

Technology Crossover Ventures

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