Sanjoy Malik's Air2Web raises $25 M

Date:   Thursday , October 05, 2006

Air2Web, a provider of mobile messaging and marketing applications has raised $25 million in a new round of investment led by The Carlyle Group, which has joined existing investors Vantage Point, technology investor Jay Chaudhry and UPS.

Air2Web plans to use the funds to expand its global presence and enhance its portfolio of mobile marketing services. “This new investment will help us leverage our strengths to consolidate our position in the mobile marketing space,” said Sanjoy Malik, President and CEO of Air2Web. The company develops an integrated platform, which enable marketers, advertising agencies, broadcasters, enterprises and carriers to create, deploy and manage mobile marketing campaigns, premium text messaging, alerts, and mobile content delivery.

Text messaging has become a mainstream application across the globe. In the U.S. about 70.9 million people used SMS in July, while 8.9 percent of mobile subscribers said they participated in a TV or radio poll. This opens a huge opportunity to companies working in mobile messaging and marketing space like Air2Web.

“The market for mobile marketing products and services is taking off. We looked extensively for the best platform company to back in a rapidly growing and maturing market and selected Air2Web,” said Jay Koh, Principal of The Carlyle Group. The Atlanta, GA based company has offices and development centers in London, U.K., Rennes, France and Chennai, India. Its customer base includes American Express, Cingular, Citibank, Spike TV, The Weather Channel and UPS.