3 mobile startups raise $6 million each in the last 9 days
Three mobile startups raise $6 million in first and second round of funding:
- Peermeta: US based mobile software firm raises $6m in first round (article)
- Trutap: UK based mobile social media receives $6.5m in a second round (article)
- Myxer: US based mobile content application developer gets $6m in second round (article)
Growing pains: MMS not fully functioning in the UK
Not only Mobiya (mobile classifieds), but also Blyk (ad-funded mobile service) had to delay the launch of their service in the UK market. We both experience the same technical problems: there is no MMS interoperability with all UK mobile networks. According to initial discussions with our sms gateway supplier Opera Telecom, there was no problem, but it now seems that the true interoperability with all UK mobile networks is ‘under construction’.
Mobiya September Research Report
Mobiya is constantly adding value by providing up-to-date insights and trends to media executives wihtin an ever changing media landscape. The dynamics of this research are based around following keywords:
- Newspapers, magazines
- Mobile media and mobile web
- Classifieds, local advertising
Download the September report here: Download Sep07_Mobiya_Research.pdf or Download sept07_mobiya_research_report.doc
About SMS 2.0, a $60 billion sms market and 1.8 trillion text messages
This press release is claiming ‘SMS 2.0.’ A company called 3Jam announced their partnership with Virgin Mobile to launch a free messaging service that enables group text communications with friends and family. Not sure how collaborative it all really is to claim 2.0.
More important for Mobiya, some interesting service elements from 3jam we should also consider:
- The SMS service is free and requires no subscription,
- Standard text messaging rates apply,
- The SMS recipients do not need to sign up.
Some new analyst figures backing our market vision: "SMS is by far the most popular non-voice service for mobile subscribers in the U.S., and according to Pamela Clark Dickson of Informa Telecoms and Media, in 2007 it will generate revenues of $60 billion for carriers worldwide. According to Gartner Dataquest, the number of SMS messages will top 1.8 trillion in 2010."
Last but not least, 3Jam as Mobiya are building a global service for transiting, billing and clearing multi-party SMS messages (note: mobile classifieds in our case), with many additional features to be available soon. The only difference, 3Jam just raised $4 million in venture capital last July!
Mobiya and The Netherlands
De Koopman, a Dutch blog about internet marketplaces, also allied with the popular business & technology magazine Emerce.nl, reported about Mobiya and its plans for The Netherlands. "Mobiya is indeed researching the Dutch market, which is three times bigger than its Flemish counterpart. " said Martin Davis. The current application is available in Dutch (also French and English) and can interconnect very smoothly with all Dutch mobile operators. According to Sacha Vekeman, the Dutch market is very appealing from a volume and cultural perspective – Dutch are known for their early adopter mentality. Mobiya has finished a first round of discussions with leading players in the gigantic media market. Mobiya is also participating at the ICMA conference, which is held in Amsterdam later this year.
Grand goal achievements: Dixie Dansercoer & Julie Brown
A few months before we started Mobiya, I had the enormous honor to meet Dixie Dansercoer and his wife Julie Brown. Dixie is a true adventurer with an enormous Arctic resume. During a cognac nightcap at the hotel bar, we talked about the startup of this new company and how scared I was. He motivated me to achieve grand goals through focus, determination and hard work. It kept me going for the last 18 months and look were we stand today. Out of respect for Dixie, Julie and Circles:
Mobiya joins ICMA to showcase innovative breakthroughs in the Mobile Classified Industry
Amsterdam, 12 September 2007 - Mobiya, recognised leader in the mobile classified market, is joining the International Classified Media Association (ICMA), the leading international trade organisation for the classified advertising industry. Like all its members and associates, Mobiya is keen to take part in facilitating the exchange of information and best practice in order to improve the performance of the classified advertising industry.
Read the complete press release: Download mobiya_joins_icma.pdf
Portal giants announcing sms bidding and mobile payment services
Also the portal giants Google and eBay made some important announcements this week around sms bidding and mobile payment services:
- Google has filed a patent for a mobile payment system that uses text messaging and includes the terms gpay and gbuy. The patent application said "The payment process may occur through the simple composition by the payer of a text message." (More)
- eBay is rolling out an sms re-bidding service in the UK, France and Belgium. "The SMS re-bidding service enables users to track bids through "outbid" alerts, so they can react from their mobile if they need to increase a bid." (More)
SMS driven services become very popular in Benelux
Belgium and the Netherlands are quickly launching new SMS based services:
- Antwerp, Gent: as of today, public transportation tickets can be paid by SMS. This is the first premium sms service in Belgium that works via a direct debit payment from your mobile phone account. The cost to the consumer is 15 cent for the premium sms and 1€20 directly taken from your mobile phone account (pre-paid or post-paid). Downside: Proximus only! (More)
- The Netherlands: a new sms-driven neighborhood alert service has been launched in Holland this week. The service ‘Buurman Alert‘ is an opt-in service that notifies anyone who is subscribed to receive suspicious activity alerts. Important advantage is the speed of distributing alerts, many times quicker than police. Now hoping that your neighbors are not schizophrenic.
Mobiya press clipping: Mobile Content, a cut above
Article about the innovation in the premium sms market, m-payment and PayPal, Vodafone live!, eBay, and Mobiya. The article provides a good insight in the geographical distribution of premium sms revenues: figures mentioned show the rise of the USA totalling more than $273 million of premium sms revenue in their first quarter 2007. Compare this to 400 million in the UK (06/07) and 100 million in Belgium. Read more: click here or Download article_tmcnet.pdf
Another recent article (FierceMobileContent) reports that global mobile operators are losing out on as much as $4.9 billion in annual revenue from lost opportunities to create value-added SMS messages. Read more.