Swype raises more cash, names prominent board members |
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Swype raises more cash, names prominent board members
Microsoft is making big waves in Barcelona today with the unveiling of its next-generation Windows Phones. But another Seattle company -- this one much smaller -- also is grabbing some headlines at the Mobile World Congress in Spain.
Swype, the Seattle startup which has invented a new way for people to input text on mobile devices, today announced that DOCOMO Capital has joined with other investors to inject another $1 million into the company. The dollar amount isn't quite as significant as the involvement of DOCOMO, which happens to be the venture arm of Japanese mobile operator NTT Docomo.
The investment follows a $5.6 million deal announced in December, which included cash from Samsung Ventures and Nokia Growth Partners. With NTT Docomo's participation, Swype now has backing from some of the largest wireless carriers and handset makers in the world.
In addition to the funding, Swype also announced that Rob Burgess -- the former CEO of Macromedia -- and Ross Bott -- the CEO of Seven -- have joined the company's board.
It appears that Swype is gaining momentum in the market at just the right time. (In the TechFlash podcast this past weekend, we talked about the Swype technology and how it could become an attractive acquisition target).
The company's technology essentially allows mobile phone users to compose words and sentences with the "swype" of a finger rather than a traditional tap. Executives at the company have said that a proficient user of the technology can compose messages 30 percent faster than the traditional "tapper."
NTT Docomo -- the largest Japanese mobile operator -- was impressed. And it should be a good ally as Swype looks to expand into Japan later this year.
"Swype's cutting edge technology is changing the way people communicate on touch-screen devices and with high levels of accuracy," said Tomoya Hemmi, President and CEO of DOCOMO Capital in a release. "With the proliferation of touch-screen devices worldwide, there is tremendous potential for Swype's technology to revolutionize text input."
Last week, Swype announced that the text input technology had been added to myTouch 3G, an Android-powered device from T-Mobile. It also has said that it plans to have the technology running on some Windows Phones later this year.
You can get an idea of how the technology works in this video:
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