Investment
Venture capital firm Earlybird AG of Hamburg has announced the closing of a first round of financing for Web-based telecommunications specialist nfon AG.
The two-year old company raised its start-up money from the German public seed finance fund High-Tech Gründerfonds.
nfon has developed patented web-based telecommunication services tailored for small and medium-sized companies. The company advertises cost reductions of up to 50 per cent over conventional telecommunications.
Armed with the new funding, the Munich-based company intends to sign up other telecoms providers as licensees of its patented technology.
Hendrik Brandis, a partner at Earlybird, said, “IP-based technologies are the future of telephony. nfon combines strong management with a successful business model and highly innovative technology.”
Within the past two years, six of Earlybird’s investee companies (Interhyp, Tipp24, Wilex, Esmertec, Entelos and NoemaLife) have floated on four different European stock exchanges. Interhyp returned fifty times its original Earlybird investment. Additionally, Earlybird sold its shareholdings in six other companies through trade sales.
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