£3 million 2nd round
investment in 3G wireless software pioneer, and key senior management
appointment
3G LAB Ltd, the Cambridge (UK) developer of
software for Third Generation (3G) mobile networks and devices, has
secured a further £3 million funding from 3i, Europe's leading
venture capital company, representing the 2nd round of
funding for the 15 month old company. The company has also appointed
Bob Last as vice-president of sales and marketing.
3G LAB Ltd is a world leading company in the
development of software and applications targeted at the 2.5G and 3G
marketplace, and also consulting services that provide be-spoke
application development services to mobile device manufacturers and 3G
network operators. To achieve this goal 3G LAB is donating key pieces
of technology to the open source community to support the development
of open platforms for the emerging mobile Internet.
3i has backed 3G LAB Ltd since its inception in
March 2000, providing the initial funding to the management team which
was drawn from major software development, communications and device
companies. Since that time 3i has helped build the business by
introducing key corporate relationships and aiding in the recruitment
of the Chairman Edward Astle. The further funding of £3 million from
3i will allow 3G LAB Ltd to continue their growth, product and service
development.
Stephen Ives, CEO for 3G LAB, said: "We are
delighted at the new investment from 3i and equally delighted to
welcome Bob Last to the company. 3i recognised the value of 3G LAB
very early on, and have demonstrated their commitment to the wireless
sector at a time when many investors are shying away from the
technology space. The market for our products and services is at a key
inflection point and we have positioned ourselves to maximise the
opportunity of 3G software development. Our commitment to an open
sourced platform is testament to our belief that the proliferation and
open development of a real time embedded operating system will bring a
speedy role-out of the wireless broadband services and products to
users."
Laurence Garrett of 3i’s communications team,
said: "Mobile operators are desperate to justify the expenditure
on 3G licences by offering interesting and workable applications on
the new platform. 3G LAB are in the forefront of offering open
platform software applications to enable the operators to maximise the
opportunity of wireless Internet, and the team is in the process of
building an outstanding wireless software company."
As part of the company’s continued growth 3G LAB’s
latest appointment sees Bob Last join the team as VP Sales &
Marketing. Last, formerly Head of 3G at Hewlett Packard Consulting,
brings with him ten year’s experience in the mobile
telecommunications industry and will add further strength to 3G LAB’s
senior management team. Over the past ten years Last has been selling
both voice and data solutions to mobile network providers and has a
number of world’s first’s under his belt, including the world’s
first telco Billing Verification System.
Bob Last, said: "I am very excited about the
opportunity at 3G LAB, the company is at the leading edge of wireless
broadband applications and services and has a tremendous management
team and investor in 3i. We are in a position to take advantage of the
market opportunity and be part of a wave of development for the next
generation of mobile networks."
About 3G LAB:
3G LAB specializes in the development of software for third
generation (3G) mobile networks and devices.
The business has two fundamental and related
activities:
- A product business which develops applications software and
infrastructure software primarily for the 3G wireless markets.
This development activity is directed at both the server side and
the device side of the 3G network.
- A consultancy business which provides custom software
development and related services to 3G network operators, mobile
content providers and mobile device manufacturers.
3G LAB promotes an open standards approach to the
emerging 3G world. From the outset, 3G LAB has been a key supporter of
two significant open source initiatives in the mobile internet domain;
the eCos open source real-time operating system project and the Kannel
open source WAP/SMS gateway project.
About 3i:
3i brings capital, knowledge and connections to the creation and
development of businesses around the world. It invests in a wide range
of opportunities from start-ups to buy-outs and buy-ins, focusing on
businesses with high growth potential and strong management.
3i invests in businesses across three continents
through local investment teams in Europe, Asia Pacific and the USA. To
date, 3i has invested over £13.5 billion (including co-investment
funds).
In the 12 months to 31st March 2001, 3i (including
its co-investment funds) invested over £1 billion in 496 technology
businesses. 3i makes technology investments in a broad range of
sectors including Communications, Healthcare and Software &
Internet. The portfolio includes businesses at all stages of
development.
At 31st March 2001, 3i’s technology portfolio was
valued at over £2 billion and included over 700 businesses.
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