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Wednesday

BlackBerry Partners Fund Announces Investments in buzzd, Digby and WorldMate

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As many of you know I returned from the BlackBerry Developer Conference very excited about the future of BlackBerry application development and also about the BlackBerry Partners Fund. (Addition information on the fund at the bottom of the article) 

Yesterday I had the great opportunity to speak with John Albirght and Kevin Talbot who are co-managing partners of the fund about today’s announcement. They were both very excited about the announcement and the companies receiving the funding. 

Below you will see a brief description of the companies receiving funding and a link to their website for more information. Over the next few days keep an eye on BlackBerry News as we do in-depth product reviews of the companies receiving the funding and interviews from those companies CEOs. I figured we might as well provide these three companies with the exposure they deserve.  

With that said the BlackBerry Partners Fund is proud to announce the following investments:

buzzd

buzzd is a location-sensitive city guide and social network on the mobile device. buzzd answers the question, “What’s going on around me right now? ™” by allowing consumers to get up-to-the minute information on what’s happening at any venue right now, rate events and connect with friends and other people in the area. buzzd has raised $3.2 million in a Series A Preferred Stock financing with BlackBerry Partners Fund, Greycroft Partners, Monitor Ventures and Qualcomm Ventures.

“buzzd is proud to be one of the first investments of the pioneering Blackberry Partners Fund,” said Nihal Mehta, CEO of buzzd.  “With the proliferation of smart phones around the world, we are excited to be part of a revolution that leverages rich handset functionality such as location-sensitivity and increased relevance to consumers everywhere.”

digby_logo

Digby is the premier mobile commerce solution provider powering the mobile channel for top retailers. The award winning Powered by Digby platform delivers an optimized shopping experience with both web and application based mobile storefronts that include easy search, browse and purchase capabilities, personal information integration, secure wallet and location based service functionality. Led by software industry veterans, the privately held company is headquartered in Austin, Texas. Digby has raised $5.5 million Series B Preferred Stock with the BlackBerry Partners Fund and existing shareholders.

“We’re thrilled to be working with the BlackBerry Partners Fund to advance our business to the next level.  Their knowledge of the mobile market and experience with building successful companies will play a critical role as we expand our marketing and sales activities”, said Dave Sikora, Founder and CEO of Digby, Inc.  ”We are looking forward to solidifying our leadership position and accelerating adoption of our storefronts in the mobile commerce market.”

wm

WorldMate® develops award-winning mobile travel software.  Removing stress and paperwork from the travel experience, WorldMate turns a mobile device into a personal travel companion, providing frequent fliers all the travel services they need at home, work or on the go. Dubbed a traveler’s “guardian angel,” the newest addition to the WorldMate product family, WorldMate Live, tracks every trip and sends real-time “push” alerts about itinerary updates and changes, including flight delays and cancellations.  WorldMate products also feature travel resources, such as flight schedules, weather forecasts, travel directories, maps, world clocks, a currency converter and much more.  For more information, visit www.mobimate.com.  WorldMate® is a registered trademark of MobiMate Ltd. All other trade names and trademarks are the property of their respective holders. MobiMate Ltd has raised $8 million in a Series C Preferred Stock financing with BlackBerry Partners Fund, Motorola Ventures and AMC Communications.

“We share the BlackBerry Partners Fund’s vision for a mobile internet business based on meaningful, valuable and profitable consumer experiences, and are honored that they consider us one of the companies spearheading movement toward this vision,” said Nadav Gur, CEO of WorldMate. “We’ve been instrumental in helping the travel industry enter the mobile space. This funding, as well as our association with the BlackBerry Partners Fund will help us take our leadership in this segment to the next level of commercial success.”

About the BlackBerry Partners Fund

If you are not familiar with the fund it is a $150 million venture capital fund.  It is designed to deliver superior returns on the compelling investment opportunity in applications, services and supporting infrastructure for the BlackBerry and other mobile platforms. The Fund’s mandate is based on the premise that in the future smartphones will be powerful portable computers for use at home, work, and leisure. The Fund invests in companies developing applications that make smartphones a compelling platform for media, commerce, enterprise, entertainment, and lifestyle applications.  The Fund is global in scope, will consider all stages of development and is co-managed by JLA Ventures and RBC Venture Partners.