IMImobile, an India-based developer of wireless value added services
(VAS) technology platforms and content aggregation services for mobile
operators, has announced that Pequot Ventures, a leading technology
venture capital firm, has invested $10 million in IMImobile. IMImobile
will use the new proceeds to further enhance its leading position in
India, as well as fund additional support and expansion for its global
customer base. Amish Jani, Senior Vice President of Pequot Ventures,
has joined the IMImobile Board of Directors.

A. R. Vishwanath, founder and CEO of IMImobile said, “Pequot Ventures’
investment in IMImobile is a significant milestone in our passionate
pursuit of developing a true technology company from India. The mobile
data space is moving quickly and growing rapidly. The new funds will
provide additional support to our domestic and international expansion
plans and help take the Company to the next level. Pequot Ventures’
strong wireless background and relationships in India and globally
will help us achieve our ambitious growth plans.”

“With voice tariffs declining globally, wireless value added services
(VAS) are increasingly being relied upon to maintain and increase
average revenue per user (ARPU). The wireless market in India is the
fastest growing in the world, and we believe it has hit an inflection
point in terms of subscriber growth. IMImobile’s position as the
leading end to end provider of technology platforms and content
delivery services within India and to operators globally make it a
very attractive investment opportunity,” said Mr. Jani. “IMImobile has
a unique value proposition as a mobile VAS operator offering
technology and aggregated content on a managed service basis to its
customers. We see this model as a preferred option for operators in
rapidly growing emerging markets.”

The mobile VAS market involves a sophisticated chain connecting
thousands of content partners to hundreds of millions of mobile
subscribers across disparate networks and hundreds of device types.
This requires the deployment of a carrier grade platform that can
ingest and deliver content efficiently, provide robust network
connectivity and billing capabilities, and scale with high subscriber
usage. With the Indian market alone predicted to grow from
approximately 95 million subscribers to over 375 million by 2010
according to Gartner Dataquest (May 2006), operators are interested in
providers who can uniquely package technology capabilities with
content skillsets and offer them on a turnkey basis. IMImobile has
spent the last five years building a world class content management
and delivery platform that has been fire-tested in live deployments
globally. The Company has secured over 40 customers worldwide,
including India’s leading operators such as Airtel, Reliance, BSNL,
Aircel, Hutch and Idea, as well as media players such as Yahoo and
StarTV. In addition, the company has deployed its platforms in
operator networks across Latin America, Africa, Middle East and Asia.