New Investor GrandBanks Capital Leads Round with Full Participation from
Returning Investors Spark Capital and True Ventures
SAN FRANCISCO, March 18 /PRNewswire/ -- SendMe Mobile
(www.SendMeMobile.com), the premier mobile media company, has secured $15
million in Series C growth capital financing. Led by new investor GrandBanks
Capital, the Series C round also includes existing investors True Ventures and
Spark Capital. SendMe will use the financing to extend market share for each
of its three core brands, SendMeMobile.com, SoLow.com and mBuzzy.com. SendMe's
growth strategy will also focus on adding new premium and community-generated
content, services, and applications to each brand; launching new brands to
support its connected portfolio strategy; and accelerating opportunities for
other major acquisitions.
"With an exploding market opportunity for off-deck services in the US,
SendMe has been able to navigate the marketplace effectively to offer the most
innovative mobile media platform available today," said Ryan Moore, general
partner at GrandBanks Capital and new SendMe board member. "SendMe's three
destination sites combine to fundamentally change the way consumers discover
and share content they love the most, and offer a new and compelling way for
major media companies to connect with their target audiences."
"The past year for SendMe has been marked by partnerships with some of the
world's leading entertainment and music companies. SendMe has surpassed an
aggressive partnership goal and secured overwhelming interest from businesses
to be part of this unique entertainment portal," said Bijan Sabet, general
partner at Spark Capital. "Equally exciting is the fast growth of the SendMe
community. Users are clearly loving what SendMe is offering and we are excited
to work with Russ and his co-founders to continue building on this momentum."
Over the past year, SendMe has signed major content deals with industry
leaders including Corbis, EMI Music, Glu, Telcogames, Gameloft, IODA, Sony
Pictures Television, and The Orchard. The company also added two properties to
its mobile media platform with its acquisition of off-portal mobile community
mbuzzy.com and the launch of its mobile sweepstakes destination SoLow.com. The
combination of SendMe's three properties create a unique mobile content
ecosystem that has also attracted partners including AEG Live, Interscope
Records, MobiTV and Universal Music Group, which are leveraging SendMe to
extend their brands to the mobile arena, generate high-margin incremental
revenue, and create more meaningful connections with consumers.
"As a media company, we're strong believers in our multi-brand, connected
strategy. For the best premium ringtones, wallpapers, games, text services and
other content by the world's leading music labels and studios,
SendMeMobile.Com is the destination of choice. If you want one-of-a-kind
experiences such as meeting Ozzy and Sharon for dinner at their mansion, or
getting paid to join Soulja Boy's entourage for a day, there's our mobile
sweepstakes site SoLow.Com. And if you'd prefer to share your own wallpapers,
videos, and other creations with other users while also chatting with them
using your mobile phone, then mbuzzy.com's community is the place for you,"
said Russell Klein, CEO of SendMe.
"By leveraging our proprietary technology platform we've been able to
dramatically reduce the costs of developing and launching these new brands in
our portfolio, and we also see significant opportunities to build much longer-
term relationships with end users this way," Klein continued. "SendMe's
momentum is fueling an aggressive growth strategy designed to extend our reach
by offering consumers more ways to be entertained and connect with friends,
while creating new and innovative offerings that bring our partners closer to
their customers. The addition of GrandBanks is an immense asset and we're
excited to leverage their mobile expertise as we expand our portfolio."
About SendMe
SendMe, Inc. turns any mobile phone into a portable playground. As the
premier mobile media company, SendMe's family of destination sites lets you
take the fun from the Web to your mobile phone with the broadest and best
content, entertainment and community out there. SendMe's three properties --
SendMeMobile.com, SoLow.com and mbuzzy.com -- deliver content from today's pop
culture sensations, niche independent creations, stuff from our own community,
and one-of-a-kind mobile games that will keep you coming back for more. So
whether you're looking for new ways to show your personal style, eager for
some mobile gaming excitement, or trying to stay connected to the people and
things you love most, SendMe brings it all to you -- how you want it, when you
want it. Founded in 2006 by three veteran online and mobile entrepreneurs,
SendMe is funded by GrandBanks Capital, Spark Capital and True Ventures.
SOURCE SendMe, Inc.
Allyson Reckerman of InkHouse for SendMe, Inc., +1-781-916-9090, ext. 804,
allyson@inkhousepr.com
