IMImobile Raises $13MIMImobile Raises $13M

Mobile value-added services developer banks $13 million, with Sequoia Capital among the investors

November 12, 2009

2 Min Read

Hyderabad, India -– IMImobile, the leading global end-toendprovider of converged mobile and online value-added services for mobile operators, mediacompanies and enterprises today announced that it has raised USD 13 million in a financinground led by Sequoia Capital and existing investor First Mark Capital. The funding will enableIMImobile to embark on its next phase of growth building on the impressive gains the companyhas made over the last few years. Spark Ventures plc is a founding partner of IMImobile and thelargest institutional shareholder and they had provided the seed capital.

MAPE Advisory Group acted as advisor to IMImobile for the investment. Sequoia Capital hasenormous experience in consistently partnering with entrepreneurs to create global marketleaders such as Cisco, Google, Apple, SKS Microfinance, Cafe Coffee Day and Just Dial. MohitBhatnagar, Managing Director, Sequoia Capital India will join the Board of IMImobile.

Vishwanath Alluri, Founder and CEO of IMImobile said: “The new financing will enable us todevelop our cloud infrastructure for Tier 1 telecom operators and allow us to expand ourcustomer base and account penetration through acquisitions. Sequoia Capital’s globalexperience and strong local expertise will be a key differentiator as we look to launch into ournext phase of growth.”

“IMImobile’s unique and growing position as a partner in revenue generation resonatespowerfully with global operators. Our ability to de-risk the launch of innovative services andoffer them to customers on a turnkey basis differentiates us in the marketplace. The mobiledata services market is both dynamic and highly competitive; constantly evolving networktechnologies, complexities of content sourcing, changing device capabilities and day-to-dayoperational activities need to be orchestrated effectively to offer successful data services.

IMImobile’s DaVinci technology platform, managed services business model, 3rd party content &application aggregation capabilities and operational model with 24/7 tech support have aproven track record of delivering measurable value to our operator customers.”

In a clear illustration of the strength of this proposition, MTN recently announced a strategicpartnership with IMImobile to deploy its DaVinci Service Delivery Platform™ on a managedservices model to offer compelling services to 103 million subscribers across 21 countries inMiddle East and Africa.

Mohit Bhatnagar, Managing Director, Sequoia Capital India said "IMImobile has witnessedtremendous growth over the years and continues to expand into diverse geographies as aconsequence of their proven technology expertise Our investment gives us an opportunity tocontribute to the fantastic growth path of IMImobile and also opens up significant inorganicgrowth possibilities for the company.”

IMImobile’s services are currently accessible to 500 million subscribers of over 40 operatorcustomers in 66 countries. These services are powered by 450 high-end servers hosted in datacenters in London, Miami, Dubai, Mumbai and Hyderabad and centrally monitored and managedfrom the company’s VNOC in Hyderabad. This reflects IMImobile’s thought leadership inpioneering a new operational mobile data model in a true virtual marketplace, and positionsthe company to leverage economies of scale in service delivery. The funds will enableIMImobile to further build its global service infrastructure to deliver solutions to leadingoperators and expand business through acquisitions.

IMImobile

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