fring Closes Second Round Funding
LONDON – 9 Aug 2007 – fring™ the leading mVoIP (mobile VoIP) provider enabling free calls, live chat and real-time presence over the mobile phone internet connection, today announced the successful completion of second round funding. This round was led by U.S. based North Bridge Venture Partners, joined by VenFin Limited and current investors Pitango Venture Capital and Veritas Venture Partners. The companies are not disclosing any financial details regarding the investment. “This funding will help us to continue enriching the mobile internet communication experience that has made fring a popular communication alternative” said Avi Shechter, fring co-founder and CEO. “We are excited and committed to providing fringsters with even greater freedom to communicate with all their phone or PC buddies with the open choices, rich features and cost savings that mobile VoIP can afford.” This additional funding will be used to support the growing fring community that already includes active users in more than 150 countries worldwide. Funds will also be used to further enhance the user experience with more mobile VoIP functionality, a greater choice of call and chat providers in addition to the current Skype, MSN Messenger, Google Talk, ICQ and SIP as well as wider network coverage beyond the current 3G/GPRS/EDGE/Wi-Fi and EVDO/CDMA access. fring will also be accessible to a wider market by expanding the set of compatible handsets beyond the 350+ Symbian Nokia, Windows Mobile and UIQ Sony Ericsson devices currently supported. “fring has demonstrated the great viral market demand for mobile communication choice” stated Jamie Goldstein, General Partner, North Bridge Venture Partners, who also joined fring’s board of directors. “We believe fring has developed the right balance in providing users with freedom of communication choice, together with the right business strategy to realize the inevitable market potential that mobile VoIP will deliver.” fring is a free , downloadable mobile phone application enabling free mVoIP (mobile VoIP) calls, real-time presence and live chat with multiple IM providers over mobile data networks or a Wi-Fi connection. The fring mVoIP application offers all mobile phone and smartphone users real mobile independence. It allows them to roam freely between wireless networks (GPRS, 3G, Wi-Fi) and enjoy the benefits of multiple IM and SIP providers from one integrated contact list. fring users or “fringsters” can mobile VoIP talk and real-time chat for free from their mobile handsets with other fring users, landlines or cellular phones using Skype-out and SIP providers as well as PC contacts through Skype, Google Talk, MSN Messenger, ICQ and Twitter. About fring fring™ is a mobile Voice over Internet Protocol (mVoIP) application that allows users to make free calls and live chat over cellular data networks or a Wi-Fi connection. Optimised for 3G over mobile phone networks with GPRS and Wi-Fi roaming, fring provides a continuous call connection. It is 100% free with no subscription costs; consumers communicate over Wi-Fi or simply pay for the data they use under their existing line rental agreement. Completely PC-independent, it requires no additional hardware and is not dependent on Wi-Fi coverage. fring also integrates with the Skype, Google Talk, ICQ, Twitter & MSN Messenger networks and hundreds of SIP providers, allowing users to choose the carrier and network of preference for every call or chat session. For further information please visit www.fring.com. About North Bridge Venture Partners North Bridge Venture Partners is an active, early-stage venture capital fund based in the Boston, Massachusetts area. For North Bridge, success is a partnership with management that produces leading public companies in large emerging markets. For more information, visit www.nbvp.com. About Pitango Venture Capital Pitango Venture Capital, the leading venture capital firm in Israel, has been investing in technology entrepreneurs since 1993. With offices in Israel and Silicon Valley California, Pitango currently manages over $1 billion in committed capital invested in more than 100 companies. Pitango specializes in providing long-term support and value-added services to its portfolio companies, with a focus on seed to late-stage companies in Communications, Network and Storage, Wireless and Mobile, Enterprise Software and Internet Infrastructure, and Life Sciences including Biotech and Medical Devices. Visit www.pitango.com for more information. About Veritas Venture Partners Veritas Venture Partners is Israel''s most experienced venture capital firm. Veritas invests primarily in technology-based companies at the seed and very early stages of their lives. With a base in Herzliya, Israel, and an office in Atlanta, it focuses on opportunities originating in (or related to) Israel, or along the East Coast of the U.S. Veritas'' primary areas of focus are enterprise software, network communications and healthcare. Visit www.veritasvc.com for more information. About VenFin Limited VenFin is an active private equity and venture capital investor focusing on high growth investment opportunities. The company has assets of $1billion which span the telecommunications, software, energy and media sectors. Visit http://www.venfin.com/ for more information. Download fring''s press kit (ZIP) For media enquiries please contact: Niki Hutchinson |
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