IQmind gets S$9.5 million funding
By Irene Tham, Special to ZDNet Asia,
June 13, 2001
URL: zdnetasia.com
SINGAPORE--Educational service provider IQmind Pte Ltd has received S$9.5 million in its third round of funding from AsiaTech Ventures Pte Ltd, Infocomm Investments Pte Ltd and ECICS Ventures 2 Ltd.
The financing will be used for current operations and product development, said IQmind in a statement this morning.
The company customizes its educational portal, which contains online learning and assessment tools, for schools in Asia.
AsiaTech's investment is made through the US$48 million Asia Java Venture Fund, which was launched in October 1999 for investing in Java-based Asian start-ups.
Major investors in the fund include Pacific Century CyberWorks, National Computer Systems and the Technopreneurship Investment Fund managed by the Government of Singapore Investment Corp. Other investors are Fujitsu, NTT DoCoMo, Mitsui & Co Nomura/Jafco and Sun Hung Kai Properties.
AsiaTech had also in March 2000 injected S$3 million in IQmind through the Asia Java Venture Fund.
"The current funding clearly validates the investment community's confidence in IQmind and its potential in becoming a major player in the education market in Asia," said AsiaTech managing director Nikunj Jinsi.
The venture capital firm assumed a new name, AsiaTech Internet Group, in the second half of last year, but has since reverted to its previous identity.
Meanwhile, Infocomm Investments is a subsidiary of the Info-communications Development Authority of Singapore (IDA). IDA assistant CEO Kaizad Heerjee believes that IQmind is "introducing a new way of teaching and learning among teachers and students in Singapore".
"IQmind's business ventures will contribute to Singapore's vision of becoming an e-learning hub in Asia," Kaizad added.
According to IQmind CEO Leslie Wong, the company's educational portal serves 210 schools and 300,000 teachers, students and parents in Singapore.
It also serves about 130 educational institutions and over 130,000 users in Hong Kong, and 120 schools and 100,000 users in Taiwan, Wong claimed.
"We are delighted to receive this level of commitment from investors especially (during) a shakeout in the technology sector," he said, noting that IQmind is targeting to generate profits by year end or the first quarter of 2001.
Wong also expects sales of between S$4 million and S$6 million for the year, and the company is almost meeting half of its target to date.
In September 1999, IQmind secured S$1 million in its first round of funding from a pool of Singaporean angel investors and the National Science & Technology Board (NSTB).
According to Wong, IQmind's board includes himself, Singapore Telecommunications Ltd chairman Koh Boon Hwee, former 3Fusion CEO Jason Lim, NSTB, Nikunj and Kaizad. |
