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Irish-based mobile commerce software developer Network365 has raised EUR15 million in second round private equity funding.
Amadeus Capital Partners is the lead investor. The investment marks Amadeus' first investment in an Irish technology company. Irish-based Trinity Venture Capital also invested in this round of funding. The funding is expected to be used for R&D and to expand the company's sales, marketing and technical support operations into the Far East and the US.
Karl Schutte of Trinity Venture Capital will join the Board of Network365 as part of the funding arrangement. Seventeen percent of the company's equity has been used to create an Employee Share Option Scheme.
"We are very happy to have received funding from venture capitalists of the calibre of Amadeus. Now we have a big pot of money and the ability to move really fast, especially in the Far Eastern market," said Denis Hennessy, co-founder and CTO, Network365.
Network365 is due to open a Tokyo office in December.
"We have looked throughout Europe to find an outstanding m-commerce company and believe that Network365 offers great potential to build a substantial world class business," said Richard Anton, Amadeus Capital Partners.
In February, Network365 completed a first round of funding, which raised EUR2.5 million from private investors and Trinity Venture Capital.
Network365 supplies mobile commerce solutions for network operators, service providers, enterprises and wireless application developers. The company develops the systems and architectures needed to complete successfully commercial transactions on mobile Internet devices including WAP phones and palm pilots.
Network365 developed mZone, a WAP commerce server for live use.
Network365 Digifone formed a partnership with Esat Digifone earlier this year to create Dot Digifone on-line, Digifone's Wap portal. Digifone was the first operator to use mZone, which is designed to support a large number of stores and product types which can be accessed from Wap-enabled phones.
It is estimated mobile commerce will be worth USD24 billion in Europe by 2003.
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