MONTREAL-Oz hopes to increase its presence on the mobile messaging playground after raking in $34 million in a second round of funding.
Canadian institutional fund Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec led the round, and VantagePoint Venture Partners and Fonds de Solidarite also participated. The developer said it will use the cash to expand its messaging platform and increase sales and marketing efforts.
“I think the size of the round clearly gives us great validation of what we’ve been doing; confidence to continue down the same path,” said Skuli Mogensen, Oz’s chief executive officer. “We still very much believe that the mobile data opportunity at large is similar to where we were on the fixed Internet 10 years ago.”
Oz initially gained traction with a platform for mobile instant messaging, but has expanded to include wireless e-mail and is looking to add community-based components to its offerings. The company boasts customers and partners including Cingular Wireless L.L.C., T-Mobile USA Inc., Microsoft Corp., Motorola Inc. and Nokia Corp.
