Swype swipes new venture round |
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Mass High Tech
Swype swipes new venture round
Just a few weeks ago, Swype introduced its text input technology on the Samsung Omnia II, offering a new way for mobile phone users to compose messages with the "swype" of a finger rather than the traditional tap. Now, news comes that Samsung -- along with Nokia Growth Partners and Benaroya Capital -- are taking an ownership stake in the Seattle startup.
The 20-person company -- founded by the co-creator of the Tegic T9 text input technology -- this evening is announcing a $5.6 million second round of funding. That follows a $1.3 million angel round from earlier this year.
Having Samsung and Nokia in your corner certainly will help a small startup gain momentum. And the big mobile handset makers are hoping that Swype will help their devices stand out against the growing market share of Apple's iPhone.
It is slightly unusual for big strategic partners like Samsung and Nokia to invest this early in a startup's life cycle. But Swype is a little different than most startups, since founder Cliff Kushler has been tinkering with the technology for about eight years.
You can see how the technology works in this video demo.
Obviously, there's a learning curve when it comes to "swyping" versus tapping. But the Swype executives last month told me that those who are familiar with the technology can compose messages at a rate that's about 30 percent faster than tapping letters on the screen.
Interestingly, this marks the second time this week that Samsung Ventures -- the venture capital arm of the Korean electronics giant -- has invested in a Seattle company. Earlier today, Samsung announced that it was participating in a $15 million strategic investment in Widevine, which helps companies securely deliver video content to Internet-enabled devices.
John Cook is co-founder of TechFlash. Follow on Twitter @johnhcook.
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