British Columbia Discovery Fund Makes $2 Million Investment Commitment to Mobidia Technology Inc. - Initial Seed Round of $500,000 has been Funded
VANCOUVER, B.C. February 17, 2005
Discovery Capital Management Corp. ("Discovery Capital"), manager of British Columbia Discovery Fund (VCC) Inc. (the "Fund" or "BCDF"), is pleased to announce that the Fund has made an investment commitment of up to $2,000,000 to Mobidia Technology Inc. ("Mobidia"), an innovative wireless technology company located in Richmond, B.C. As part of its commitment, BCDF has fully funded the initial seed round investment of $500,000.
Mobidia is immediately embarking on a second round financing to raise up to $2,500,000, with closing anticipated for April 30, 2005. BCDF has committed to fund up to $1,500,000 of this round of investment, with a $1,000,000 minimum. Discovery Capital is actively working with Mobidia to complete the syndication of this second round of financing and discussions are underway with several potential investors. In connection with the Fund's commitment, Charles Cook, CFO of the Fund, has been appointed to Mobidia's board of directors.
Upon closing of a fully subscribed second round financing, Mobidia will have raised $3,000,000 in aggregate, with the funds earmarked for completing product development, enhancing intellectual property protection and expanding marketing and business development. Mobidia has initiated discussions with its potential customers, which are principally wireless telephone carriers, to commence trials of its .wave™ technology.
"With the growing proliferation of smartphones and other wireless enabled mobile devices, the demand for wireless data services is expanding rapidly and wireless carriers are keenly interested in increasing their ARPU (average revenue per unit) by providing the best wireless data services experience possible over their networks," commented Charles Cook. "We believe that Mobidia is developing a unique technology solution that will allow carriers to provide high quality of service, manage their bandwidth and enable seamless roaming, all of which will drive demand for wireless data services."
"Although Mobidia was launched in 2004, extensive research and testing have gone into Mobidia's product by its founders, Chief Scientist, Dr. Sharif and CTO, Fay Arjomandi" commented Allan Larmour, CEO of Mobidia. "The Fund's investment has been made at a critical point in Mobidia's development. The market for Mobidia's products is developing rapidly, and the Fund's investment will allow us to accelerate towards our scheduled trial dates and eventual commercial launch."
About British Columbia Discovery Fund (VCC) Inc.
British Columbia Discovery Fund (VCC) Inc. was established to make venture capital investments in a portfolio of small businesses in British Columbia that qualify under the Small Business Venture Capital Act, focusing on all of B.C.'s top internationally recognized technology clusters; information technology, communications, health and life sciences, and energy and environmental technologies. Established in 2002, the Fund is the largest SBVCA registered venture capital corporation making diversified investments in British Columbia with the objectives of achieving long-term capital appreciation for its shareholders and contributing to the growth in value and employment of the technology industry in British Columbia. In addition to offering a means of participating in the potential of British Columbia's newest technology ventures, the Fund offers significant tax savings to eligible British Columbia individual and corporate investors. The Fund offers its shares on a continuous basis and has raised approximately $26 million to date. To obtain further information about the Fund, please contact a registered advisor, or visit
www.sedar.com or
www.bcdiscoveryfund.com.
About Discovery Capital Management Corp.
With nearly 20 years of venture capital experience in British Columbia, Discovery Capital is a venture fund manager and investor specializing in: information technology, communications, health and life sciences, and other advanced technologies. We have enhanced value for over 250 technology ventures, with our proven expertise in strategic planning, management development, innovative financing strategies, corporate governance and positioning for liquidity.
For more information about Discovery Capital, please visit
www.discoverycapital.com.
About Mobidia Technology Inc.
Mobidia Technology, Inc., develops and sells IP traffic management software for monitoring, managing, and monetizing wireless data streams to and from smartphones and laptops. The company's innovative and award-winning,
.wave™ (dot wave) solution enables wireless operators to enhance their mobile data network by understanding and managing their user data streams on a per application, per service, and per network basis. Mobidia is headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia. For more information, visit
www.mobidia.com or call (604) 304-8640.
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Mobidia is a service mark of Mobidia Technology, Inc.
Mobidia Technology, Inc.
Sales Contact:
Allan Larmour
VP of Business Development
Email: al.larmour@mobidia.com
Phone: +1 604.304.8640 Ext. 100
Media Contact:
Jill Koehler
Email: jill.koehler@mobidia.com
Phone: +1 604.304.8640 Ext. 136
For all other inqueries about Mobidia Technology, Inc., please call +1 604 304 8640, fax +1 604 304 8447, or email via
info@mobidia.com. For additional information, visit
www.mobidia.com.
