November 12, 2009

IMImobile raises USD 13 million in a financing round led by Sequoia Capital

Funding to Support the Company's Next Expansion Phase IMImobile to further develop global service infrastructure To look for selective acquisitions Mohit Bhatnagar, Managing Director, Sequoia Capital will join the Board of IMImobile Second round of funding for IMImobile

Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, November 12, 2009 /India PRwire/ -- IMImobile, the leading global end-to-end provider of converged mobile and online value-added services for mobile operators, media companies and enterprises today announced that it has raised USD 13 million in a financing round led by Sequoia Capital and existing investor First Mark Capital. The funding will enable IMImobile to embark on its next phase of growth building on the impressive gains the company has made over the last few years. Spark Ventures plc, a founding partners of IMImobile is the largest institutional shareholder and had provided the seed capital.

MAPE Advisory Group acted as advisor to IMImobile for the investment. Sequoia Capital has enormous experience in consistently partnering with entrepreneurs to create global market leaders such as Cisco, Google, Apple SKS Microfinance, Cafe Coffee Day and Just Dial. Mohit Bhatnagar, 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 to develop our cloud infrastructure for Tier 1 telecom operators and allow us to expand our customer base and account penetration through acquisitions. Sequoia Capital's global experience and strong local expertise will be a key differentiator as we look to launch into our next phase of growth"

"IMImobile's unique and growing position as a partner in revenue generation resonates powerfully with global operators. Our ability to de-risk the launch of innovative services and offer them to customers on a turnkey basis differentiates us in the marketplace. The mobile data services market is both dynamic and highly competitive; constantly evolving network technologies, complexities of content sourcing, changing device capabilities and day-to-day operational 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 a proven track record of delivering measurable value to our operator customers."

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

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

IMImobile's services are currently accessible to 500 million subscribers of over 40 operator customers in 66 countries. These services are powered by 450 high-end servers hosted in data centers in London, Miami, Dubai, Mumbai and Hyderabad and centrally monitored and managed from the company's VNOC in Hyderabad. This reflects IMImobile's thought leadership in pioneering a new operational mobile data model in a true virtual marketplace, and positions the company to leverage economies of scale in service delivery. The funds will enable IMImobile to further build its global service infrastructure to deliver solutions to leading operators and expand business through acquisitions.

Notes to Editor

About IMImobile

IMImobile is a leading provider of converged mobile and online technology platforms and content services to mobile operators and media companies around the world. The IMImobile product portfolio includes a core service delivery platform (DaVinci SDP), mobile advertising platform (Ad-Ring™), carrier grade messaging platforms and gateways, applications for data services, full track music download services and voice platforms. Customers include leading operators and media companies such as Airtel, Vodafone, Virgin Mobile, Google, Reuters and Yahoo! IMImobile is a profitable fast growing company with operations in 66 countries and offices in Asia, Europe, Latin America and the Middle East.

For more information, please visit www.imimobile.com.

About Sequoia Capital

Sequoia Capital currently manages funds capitalized at close to US $1.8 billion and invests across venture, growth and late stage opportunities in India. It takes a long term view on investments and plays the role of an active, value added partner to entrepreneurs, business families and management teams. Over the last 9 years, Sequoia Capital has invested in more than 50 Indian companies including Café Coffee Day, Comviva (Bharti Telesoft), Dr Lal Pathlabs, Edelweiss, Firstsource, GVK Biosciences, Idea Cellular, Ind-Barath Power, Just Dial, Shaadi.com and SKS Microfinance. Sequoia Capital operates out of offices in Bangalore, Mumbai and New Delhi.

Globally, Sequoia Capital has an unparalleled track record of partnering with entrepreneurs to create global market leaders. Sequoia Capital has been an early investor in companies such as Google, Cisco, Yahoo, YouTube, Oracle, and Apple Computers. Sequoia Capital maintains dedicated teams in the US, China, India and Israel.

For more information, kindly visit: http://www.sequoiacap.com/india.

About FirstMark Capital

Based in New York City, FirstMark Capital has established itself as a venture leader over its thirteen year history. FirstMark invests in companies that are creating new markets with innovative technology solutions or rethinking existing markets by applying a novel business model. With nearly $2 billion in capital commitments, FirstMark's team of investment and operations professionals have decades of real-world experience and leadership in core technology markets, making the firm uniquely qualified to offer industry insight, relationships and the operational expertise to build lasting businesses. Select historical investments include: Netgear, Inc. (NASDAQ: NTGR); First Advantage Corp. (NASDAQ: FADV); StubHub, Inc (Acquired by eBay, Inc.); Netegrity, Inc. (Acquired by CA Inc); Flarion, Inc. (Acquired by Qualcomm, Inc.); OutlookSoft Inc. (Acquired by SAP AG); Analex Corp. (Acquired by QinetiQ); Vallent (Acquired by IBM); Syndesis (Acquired by Subex) and Navic (Acquired by Microsoft).

For more information, please visit http://www.firstmarkcap.com.

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