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Mittal
said, "With mobile phones quickly becoming
a general-purpose, interaction device for
nearly two billion consumers worldwide,
demand for and use of interactive digital
entertainment is on the rise. As one of
the leading innovators in this sector, Cellcast
has unlimited potential for growth and we
are thrilled to help drive the company’s
expansion.
"With
a direct presence in India, Canaan is rapidly
expanding its early-stage investments in
the region and we are thrilled Cellcast
is joining our portfolio as our first mobile
entertainment investment in India.”
“Cellcast
is Canaan Partners’ first investment
in the growing trend of value added services
in India."
CAH
CEO Pankaj Thakar said, “There is an
evolving use of mobile phones to provide
a personal entertainment experience. We
at Cellcast strive to match the needs of
broadcasters and end consumers by producing
live interactive pay-to-play programming,
aggregating and distributing an extensive
portfolio of mobile and participative TV
applications.
"This
partnership with Canaan Partners will enable
us to accelerate growth through investment
in new formats and applications and the
expansion of our management team to support
our regional initiatives. With this venture
we will share a common vision of bringing
to the Indian and Asian market next generation
applications and formats, reaching millions
of customers in the fastest growing mobile
market in the world.”
Cellcast
CEO Andrew Wilson said, “The investment
by Canaan Partners is a strong endorsement
of Cellcast’s market-leading proprietary
technology and applications, and a recognition
of the proven skills and sector experience
of its established Asian-based management
team.
"
The establishment of this dedicated regional
operation and its independent funding through
Canaan Partners, is the most effective way
for Cellcast plc to realise its growing
Asian ambitions whilst retaining resources
for reinvestment in other technological
and geographical areas”.
Canaan’s
recent investments in India include BharatMatrimony,
a premiere online matrimonial service in
India, iYogi, a second generation outsourcing
startup and techTribe, a career networking
portal based on the referral model.
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