Mobile, online entertainment services expand for consumers, marketers
MENLO PARK, Calif. -- New Enterprise Associates (NEA) has invested $6 million in Burlingame, California-based Limbo 41414, a mobile and online entertainment company. Funding from this Series C financing of $8 million
from NEA, Azure Capital Partners and Draper Fisher Jurvetson will continue fueling Limbo's growth and plans to deliver an expanded array of mobile and online entertainment services to consumers and marketers. Peter Sonsini, NEA Principal, will join the Board of Directors as a result of this funding."Limbo 41414 is an exciting model because it connects advertisers with mobile users in a fun and interactive way," said Mr. Sonsini. "Mobile advertising presents a huge opportunity, and the Limbo Auction is really catching on in a sweet spot. We look forward to working with this talented group of entrepreneurs as they create advertising-driven entertainment for the 230 million North American mobile phone users and the marketers reaching out to them."
The brainchild of serial entrepreneurs Rob Lawson, Juho-Pekka Virolainen and Jonathon Linner, Limbo 41414's patent-pending Limbo Auction offers marketers an effective way to target and engage audiences with brands. Limbo Auction invites cell phone users to compete against each other to win prizes by having the lowest unique bid at the end of the auction. Limbo Auction can be played online at www.41414.com and through all major U.S. mobile operators, including Alltel, Amp'd, Boost, Cincinnati Bell, Cingular, Dobson, Nextel, Sprint, T-Mobile, US Cellular, Verizon, and Virgin Mobile USA, in addition to Canadian giants Aliant Mobility, Bell Mobility, Fido, MTS Mobility, Rogers Wireless, SaskTel Mobility, TELUS Mobility and Virgin Mobile Canada.
"NEA is a great addition to our group of supportive investors," said Jonathon Linner, chief executive officer and co-founder of Limbo 41414. "We're excited to have Peter Sonsini join the board and bring NEA's expertise in the consumer technology and online advertising markets to bear as Limbo 41414 continues to find creative and unique ways to make having a cell phone fun."
About Limbo 41414
Limbo 41414 (www.41414.com) is defining a new category of mobile entertainment with its patent-pending interactive game play. Limbo 41414 brings consumers an engaging, community-driven gaming experience while delivering exposure to leading brands and media companies through branded prizes. The award-winning company is headquartered in Burlingame, California. Limbo 41414 is a private corporation backed by three of the world's top venture capital funds: Azure Capital Partners (www.azurecap.com), Draper Fisher Jurvetson (www.dfj.com) and New Enterprises Associates (www.nea.com).