First-round funding
Dutch internet start-up eBuddy, which claims to be the world's first and largest independent provider of web-based messaging, has raised €5 million in a first round funding from Lowland Capital Partners.
The company says it has over 35 million users worldwide, including 4 million mobile users, and is adding over over 1.5 million new users each month.
“Instant messaging is catching up with e-mail and text messaging as a main communication tool, and we offer the best user experience,” said CEO and co-founder Jan-Joost Rueb. “Given its track record in the European and worldwide internet space, we are very pleased to have Lowland Capital Partners on board as investor.”
“We are excited to be involved with eBuddy. Its management’s vision not only resulted in the offering of the first independent web browser-based instant messaging service, but also has been translated into a profitable company”, said Frans Blommestein, LCP partner.
eBuddy’s internet service enables users to chat with AOL, MSN and Yahoo accounts without having to install any program. Users can also access eBuddy on their mobile phone, independent of carrier or device type via the WAP- or mobile internet- browser (mob.ebuddy.com).
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