ideaEDGE Ventures Announces Formation of New Company -- M7 Networks -- To Speed Global Deployment of Mobile Internet Applications
SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 21, 2001--
Exodus Communications, ideaEDGE, Nuance and QUALCOMM to Provide Technology and Business Development Resources for M7 Networks
ideaEDGE Ventures, a corporation developing and operating global businesses in the mobile Internet space, today announced the formation of a new company, M7 Networks, that will focus on speeding the deployment of mobile Internet applications for Global 1000 corporations and software developers. The alliances with Exodus Communications(R) (Nasdaq:EXDS), ideaEDGE, Nuance (Nasdaq:NUAN) and QUALCOMM (Nasdaq:QCOM) will provide M7 Networks with the technology and business development resources to be the first Mobile Infrastructure Hosting Provider to help organizations expedite the deployment of mobile Internet applications and services worldwide.
M7 has installed proven and scalable mobile Internet technologies including Ericsson's (Nasdaq:ERICY) carrier-class platform.
Through its alliance with Exodus(R), the leading global Internet hosting company, M7 Networks will host its operations in Exodus Internet Data Centers worldwide. This enables customers to extend existing "wired Internet" applications to the mobile world and provides ready customer opportunities for M7 Networks. "We see strong demand from our customer base for mobile Internet capabilities," said Ellen Hancock, chairman and CEO of Exodus. "Global companies are making significant investments in implementing mobile applications and mobile-enabling their Web sites. We're pleased to be able to have this innovative solution available from M7 Networks within our Internet Data Centers."
"What's been missing, until now, is a reliable and scalable mobile infrastructure platform that enables a developer to launch a mobile application over multiple geographies," said Hans Davidsson, wireless industry expert, and a Managing Partner at ideaEDGE and Vice-Chairman of the Board of Directors of M7 Networks. "M7 will define how businesses deploy mobile services to various platforms by building the bridge to enable global wireless data access."
Current industry research supports the need for this breakthrough in speeding development and availability of mobile applications. In a recent 2000 Jupiter report, "Developing for Mobile Appliances," analysts wrote, "Faced with an array of immature platforms, many companies have adopted an asset-driven approach to developing mobile services. These business are focusing on how to repurpose and deliver Web assets while coping with the varieties of mobile infrastructure."
ideaEDGE has helped M7 Networks assemble the key components required for organizations to rapidly deploy mobile applications on a global scale -- best-of-breed technologies, professional services, and alliances with key hosting companies.
"M7 Networks has the key ingredients for success: a compelling economic model, based on a foundation that fulfills a strongly stated customer need, and it's backed by the finest resources and seasoned management expertise in the business," stated Dr. Rick LeFaivre, Managing Partner of ideaEDGE. "We're excited to have forged alliances with the premier mobile Internet market leaders on M7 Networks behalf."
A key component of M7 Networks' strategy is the delivery of new voice-enabled services to its corporate customers. Nuance, the leader in voice interface software, has partnered with M7 and will be providing voice recognition technologies for integration into the M7 infrastructure. "Speech recognition is a critical component of the mobile Internet," said Ronald Croen, president and CEO of Nuance. "The Nuance and M7 partnership will provide the voice that will connect millions of customers to wireless applications, from any phone, anytime, anywhere by simply speaking."
As an investor in M7 Networks, QUALCOMM is providing technical support, professional services, and other business development opportunities to M7 Networks. "We view M7 as an opportunity to put in place key components of the infrastructure required to enable the 3G mobile Internet market," said Prashant Kantak, director of business development for QUALCOMM. "There is a strong need in the worldwide marketplace, specifically in the United States and Asia, for mobile Internet data centers and, M7's infrastructure along with its professional services expertise in enabling mobile presence, will benefit both operators and application developers alike. We're excited to be a part of this venture."
In addition to ideaEDGE and QUALCOMM, key investors in M7 Networks are Enterprise Partners of La Jolla, CA, Investor AB of Sweden, and Sienna Holdings of Sausalito, CA.
About ideaEDGE Ventures:
ideaEDGE is a corporation building and operating global businesses focused on the mobile Internet industry. ideaEDGE provides mission-critical products and services to help deploy scalable and reliable mobile Internet applications worldwide. ideaEDGE investors include Enterprise Partners, Sienna Holdings, Investor AB, QUALCOMM (Nasdaq:QCOM) and Silicon Valley Bancshares (Nasdaq:SIVB). ideaEDGE is headquartered in San Diego, one of the leading wireless technology centers in the world.
About Nuance:
Nuance develops, markets and supports voice interface software that makes the information and services of enterprises, telecommunications networks and the Internet accessible from any telephone. Every day, millions of people interact with Nuance systems at blue chip companies like BeVocal, Lycos, Merrill Lynch, Nomura Securities, Sprint PCS, and Tellme Networks. Nuance is also driving the creation of the Voice Web and delivering software for V-Commerce (voice-enabled e-commerce) services and applications. Nuance is headquartered in Menlo Park, Calif., with global sales offices and partners supporting solutions in multiple languages around the world. For more information about Nuance, visit www.nuance.com or call 1-888-NUANCE-8.
About QUALCOMM:
QUALCOMM Incorporated (www.qualcomm.com) is a leader in developing and delivering innovative digital wireless communications products and services based on the Company's Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) digital technology. The Company's business areas include CDMA integrated circuits and system software; technology licensing; Eudora(R) email software for Windows(R) and Macintosh(R) computing platforms; digital cinema systems; and satellite-based systems including portions of the Globalstar(TM) system and wireless fleet management systems, OmniTRACS(R) and OmniExpress(TM). QUALCOMM owns patents that are essential to all of the CDMA wireless telecommunications standards that have been adopted or proposed for adoption by standards-setting bodies worldwide. QUALCOMM has licensed its essential CDMA patent portfolio to more than 95 telecommunications equipment manufacturers worldwide. Headquartered in San Diego, Calif., QUALCOMM is included in the S&P 500 Index and is a 2000 FORTUNE 500(R) company traded on The NASDAQ Stock Market(R) under the ticker symbol QCOM.
About M7 Networks:
M7 Networks, Inc. (M7) is building the bridge to enable global wireless data access. M7 Networks is a mobile infrastructure hosting company providing integrated infrastructure and related services to Enterprises, Application Service Providers (ASPs) and Network Operators. Founded in the year 2000 by ideaEDGE Ventures, M7's integrated carrier-class platform allows organizations to deliver WAP, SMS, Voice-based applications (and others to follow) in a highly secure, reliable, scalable and accessible environment. The company also provides complementary integration and development services. M7 Networks is privately held and is funded by leading venture capital firms and corporations including Enterprise Partners, Investor AB, QUALCOMM and Sienna Holdings.
Note to Editors: Exodus Communications and Exodus are trademarks of Exodus Communications, Inc. and may be registered in certain jurisdictions.
QUALCOMM, OmniTRACS and Eudora are registered trademarks and OmniExpress is a trademark of QUALCOMM Incorporated. Globalstar is a trademark of Loral QUALCOMM Satellite Services, Incorporated. Windows is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corp. Macintosh is a registered trademark of Apple Computer Inc.
ideaEDGE is a trademark of ideaEDGE Ventures, and M7 and M7 Networks are trademarks of M7 Networks Inc. All other trademarks are property of their respective owners.
CONTACT:
ideaEDGE Ventures
Liya Sharif, 858/320-3644
Lsharif@ideaedge.com
or
Burson-Marsteller for ideaEDGE
Lance Mercereau, 415/591-4124
lance-mercereau@sfo.bm.com
or
QUALCOMM
Christine Trimble, 858/651-3628
Ctrimble@qualcomm.com
or
Nuance
Matt Keowen, 650/847-7836
Mkeowen@nuance.com
KEYWORD: CALIFORNIA
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