Investee Company – esmertec ag (Switzerland)
Investee Company Business Type – Provider of Java-based solutions
Type of Financing – Expansion
Equity Providers – Sofinnova Partners, Earlybird Venture Capital and Partners Group
Equity Leader (Individual) – Jean Schmitt, Sofinnova Partners
Debt Providers – N/A
Debt Type – N/A
Debt Leader (Individual) – N/A
Equity Amount – euro3.5 million
Total Deal Value – euro3.5 million
Other Advisors – N/A
Comments – esmertec ag, a leading global supplier of embedded Java? virtual machines for mobile devices, has extended its series B investment round with a second phase injection of euro3.5 million. This funding tranche was led by Sofinnova Partners and supported by Earlybird Venture Capital and Partners Group, and brings the total raised by the company to euro10 million over the two stages of the deal.
Established in 1999, and based in Dübendorf, Switzerland, esmertec is a leading provider of Java? solutions for the mobile world. The company’s wireless and enterprise class solutions are based on Sun Microsystems J2ME? technology and the Jbed Micro Edition Platform. The Jbed platform delivers service providers, mobile device manufacturers, application developers and enterprise IT organisations the rich user experience of high performance computing on small devices.
This latest round of financing will be used to fund the ongoing expansion of the business, particularly in the areas of sales and marketing. Using its compiling technology for compressing data for wireless applications, esmertec’s aim is to be the leading provider of Java? solutions for the mobile world.
Dr Hansruedi Heeb, CEO of esmertec, commented: “We are fortunate to have partnered with top-tier investors who will help us extend our market reach and strengthen our industry leadership position. The fact that these companies are investing in esmertec demonstrates their vision and commitment to developing cutting-edge technologies.”
The first tranche investment of euro6.5 million, announced in October 2001, was also provided by Early Bird Ventures and four other funds managed by Partners Group.