VC/M&A

Nokia commits another $150M to mobile investment

Jason Ankeny — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 20:20:43 -0400

Nokia announced it will commit an additional $150 million to its equity and venture capital management arm Nokia Growth Partners, increasing total funds under management for direct investments to $250 million as the handset giant seeks to ignite the creation of new applications and services encouraging adoption of mobile solutions including context and location based services, mobile payments, mobile advertising, music and entertainment. Nokia Growth Partners will now launch direct operations in India and China and augment its existing investment activity in the U.S. and Europe--the unit will continue pursuing investments that complement and bolster existing Nokia strategies, and advise on its parent firm's other venture capital fund investments. Over the past year, Nokia Growth Partners has invested in early-stage ventures including BlueRun Ventures, Founders Fund, Gobi Partners and Magma Venture Partners.

For more on Nokia's investment outlook:
- read this release

Openwave sells mobile software biz to Purple Labs

Jason Ankeny — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 19:04:17 -0400

Software applications and infrastructure provider Openwave Systems announced the sale of its mobile phone software business to embedded Linux solutions supplier Purple Labs. Per terms of the deal, Openwave transferred assets of its client business to Purple Labs on June 27 in exchange for $30 million in cash, an additional $2 million if certain conditions are met, and warrants to purchase 2 percent of Purple Labs common stock. According to Openwave, the sale of its browser and messaging client technologies will enable to company to focus on networked-based services.

For more on the Openwave/Purple Labs deal:
- read this release

Related article:
NXP, Purple Labs debut $100 Linux feature phone

Microsoft acquires data services firm MobiComp

Jason Ankeny — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 18:52:46 -0400

Microsoft announced its pending acquisition of software services firm MobiComp, which provides mobile data backup, restoration and sharing services. Financial terms were not disclosed. According to Microsoft, the deal promises to extend the capabilities of its Windows Mobile and Windows Live platforms by integrating MobiComp services including MobileKeeper Backup & Restore, MobileKeeper Sharing & Communities (which enables users to post social content to online networks like Facebook) and Active mTicker (which pushes personalized information to wireless users via an always-on, scrolling ticker that runs across the bottom of the device screen when the handset is in idle mode). Upon completion of the acquisition, MobiComp will still continue to serve its existing partners and customers, among them 11 mobile operators worldwide.

For more on the Microsoft/MobiComp deal:
- read this release

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