Appear Networks Closes €6 Million Series B Financing
Mobile Middleware Specialist Reports 480% Sales Growth
Stockholm, January 12, 2006 – Appear Networks, a leading software provider and enabler of large scale enterprise mobile solutions, announced today that it closed €6 million Series B venture financing from leading European IT investors. The funding will allow Appear to strengthen its European market leadership position, expand into the U.S. market and continue its aggressive product development.
New investor Northzone Ventures led the round. Existing investors Remote Reward and Tenal also participated. In conjunction with this funding round, Jörgen Bladh, general partner of Northzone Ventures, will join Appear Networks’ Board of Directors.
The funding follows a successful year for Appear Networks, who announced record growth in 2005 and the profitability of its European operation. Fueled by large contracts signed with customers in the transportation and public sector verticals, Appear Networks attained a 480 percent increase in year-over-year sales orders. In the third quarter of 2005, Appear Networks established an operating presence in the United States.
Appear Networks has developed an intelligent wireless communication platform to meet the needs of mobile employees and ease their use of technology. The key is Appear IQ’s ability to recognize and anticipate the needs of mobile workers based on their context: job responsibilities, physical location, bandwidth capacity, time of day, device type and more. The Appear Context Engine proactively pushes or synchronizes personalized, real-time information to the users’ handheld devices whenever they enter an authorized wireless zone or move between zones.
“Appear Networks is expanding beyond its European base into the U.S. market, and this new capital will enable us to accelerate our market entry strategy,” said Ann-Louise Palm, CEO of Appear Networks. “We are pleased that Appear Network’s previous investors have shown confidence in our execution to date as well as our future potential. We are also excited that Northzone Ventures has chosen to participate in this latest funding round.”
“Large customers such as the Paris Subway are not looking for simple wireless synchronization solutions, they need a lot more,” commented Jörgen Bladh, general partner at Northzone Ventures. “These customers demand a user-friendly, integrated solution capable of supporting large numbers of field workers in order to generate a high return on investment. One large customer currently uses the Appear Context Engine to support the Wi-Fi synchronization of 10,000 mobile devices, saving an estimated 20 minutes per day per employee. Appear Networks has brought to market a new way for mobile employees to interact with and access technology, fundamentally changing the way mobile employees do their jobs. We are delighted to join the current group of experienced private equity investors and look forward to helping this company fulfill its potential.”
Philippe Rechsteiner, investment director at Remote Reward, concluded: “We are convinced that Appear is well-positioned for continued growth. They have a superior technology, a growing base of installed customers, and a seasoned management team. We are confident that this financing will enable Appear Networks to further develop and market its unique solution around the world.”
About Appear Networks: Appear Networks is a leading provider of wireless communication platforms that enable successful enterprise mobility solutions. The Appear IQ suite of products transforms standard wireless data networks into multimedia channels for the proactive delivery of personalized, real-time information, mission-critical video and VoIP communication to mobile workers. In highly demanding, mobile environments, Appear IQ makes technology accessible and intuitive, leveraging existing IT investments to maximize employee productivity and the effectiveness of customer interactions. Appear IQ is used by leaders in the transportation, telecommunication and public sector, including, among others, Stockholm Subway (SL), Paris Local Transport Authority (RATP), Connex, France Telecom and the City of Kista, Sweden. Appear Networks partners with IT industry leaders Cisco, Capgemini, Intel and Fujitsu Siemens Computers to deliver innovative, end-to-end, integrated WLAN solutions. The company is privately held and headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden. For more information, please visit us at http://www.appearnetworks.com.
About Northzone Ventures: Northzone Ventures is a leading Nordic venture capital firm specialized in innovative early-stage investments in software, information technology and telecommunications. The firm has eight general partners, located in offices in Copenhagen, Oslo and Stockholm, and has invested in more than 40 companies across Scandinavia since it was founded in 1996. Northzone manages €170 million in capital commitments from leading Nordic and international private equity investors. For more information, please visit: http://www.northzone.com.
About Remote Reward: Remote Reward is a French financial holding directed by André Jolivet, one of the three founders of GSM-module producer Wavecom. Remote Reward focuses on wireless technologies by building an ecosystem of pure players, such as Stepmind (chipset design house), Everbee (encryption technologies) and Megabeam Networks (wireless ISP acquired by Swisscom-Eurospot) in order to develop strong synergies in the wireless broadband market. For more information, please visit http://www.remotereward.com.
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