Venrock, Avalon Ventures and Masthead Venture Partners Support Expansion of Mobile Social Networking Through the ANTHEM Platform and Rabble
By American Venture Magazine
San Diego, CA. — Intercasting Corporation, a leading mobile media company, today announced that it has raised $12 million in Series B financing led by Venrock and also supported by existing backers Avalon Ventures and Masthead Venture Partners.
Intercasting Corp. will use the funding to go towards its strategy of expanding carrier-based distribution and partners for both its mobile social networking application, Rabble, and its Social Networking Service Gateway (SNS-G) ANTHEM Platform, which enables wireless carriers to mobilize web-based social networking and community sites. Existing partners of the company include AT&T, Verizon Wireless, Metro PCS, Virgin Mobile and 3UK, as well as top social networking sites like LiveJournal and Community Connect among many others.
“The level of confidence shown by investors in our series B round demonstrates the validity of Intercasting’s approach to social networking on the mobile platform,” said Shawn Conahan, founder and CEO of Intercasting Corporation. “The social networking and user-generated content phenomena are quickly migrating to the mobile space, and ANTHEM is providing the efficiency necessary for carriers to take full advantage of this networking trend.”
“We believe that Intercasting is playing a leadership role in the evolution of social networking and is providing an exciting breakthrough communication platform for social networking site providers and carriers through its ANTHEM platform,” said Brian Ascher, General Partner, Venrock Associates. Intercasting Corp’s ANTHEM Gateway addresses the complexities of mobilizing social networking services for wireless carriers by providing a common standards-based interface for technical integration, content policy management and transaction processing. The ANTHEM Gateway provides a mobile on-ramp to existing Social Networking Services, brands, and entertainment companies interested in developing new mobile initiatives.
Through the ANTHEM platform, wireless carrier customers have the ability to interact with multiple online portals from their handsets, enabling them to view their own and friends’ profiles, photos, friend lists, messages and contacts. Some of the most popular social networking providers are already integrated into the ANTHEM Gateway.
About Intercasting
Founded in June 2004, Intercasting Corporation, based in San Diego, is one of the leading mobile media companies providing applications for personal mobile devices. Intercasting Corp. is partnering with global wireless carriers to bring to market applications that leverage the growth of mobile media devices, allowing people to communicate with each other and capture news and information as it occurs. Through Intercasting Corp.’s debut offering, Rabble, consumers can create and consume media through their personal, portable media devices, connecting with others who share similar interests, experiences or proximity.
About Venrock
Venrock is a premier venture capital firm with offices in Menlo Park, New York, Cambridge, MA, and Israel. Originally established as the venture capital arm of the Rockefeller family, Venrock continues a seven-decade tradition of partnering with entrepreneurs to establish successful, enduring companies. Having invested $1.9 billion in 400 companies resulting in over 120 IPOs over the past 38 years, Venrock’s investment returns place it among the top tier venture capital firms that have achieved consistently superior performance. With a primary focus on technology, healthcare, and energy, portfolio companies have included Apple Computer, Centocor, Check Point Software, DoubleClick, Gilead Sciences, Idec Pharmaceuticals, Illumina, Intel, Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Sirna Therapeutics, and StrataCom.
About Masthead Venture Partners
Headquartered in Cambridge, Mass., Masthead Venture Partners is a venture capital firm dedicated to providing early stage information technology, internet infrastructure and services, communications, and IT-intensive life sciences companies with the capital and hands-on operational support they need to develop into industry leaders. The firm has the advanced technical expertise, proven operating experience and deep industry knowledge and relationships to help entrepreneurs build companies with category defining potential. About Avalon Ventures
Avalon Ventures is a San Diego-based venture capital fund focusing on seed and early stage companies in the technology and life science industries. Our current Fund, Avalon Ventures VII, L.P. is $75 million.
Avalon Ventures is one of the longest-standing venture capital firms in San Diego, investing in life sciences and information technology opportunities locally and around the country since 1983 through seven Avalon Ventures funds. The collective market capitalization of Avalon Ventures portfolio companies (most founded by Avalon partners) currently exceeds $8 billion.
More information
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