Motorola pumps cash into Ireland's Anam

17-06-2005

by Deirdre McArdle

Dublin-based wireless software firm Anam Mobile has received significant investment from the US mobile phone maker Motorola.

The investment arm of Motorola, Motorola Ventures, has said it will provide funding to the Irish firm in what it is calling a "strategic investment." Exact terms of the funding were not disclosed by either firm. Anam says it will use the cash injection to fund its continued expansion into new markets and also to develop its suite of products.

Anam, which was founded in 1999, develops SMS and MMS delivery platforms. In addition, the firm's patented Smart Services Framework allows mobile operators to launch customised SMS and MMS services to their subscribers.

Motorola and Anam recently signed a commercial agreement, a move which contributed to the phone maker's decision to invest in the Irish firm. Motorola certainly has high hopes for its investment, with John O'Donohue, managing director of Motorola Ventures EMEA, saying in a statement, "Anam has the potential to become a leading innovator in the mobile data services sector."

Anam's target market is mobile operators around the world, Loughlin O'Nolan, Anam's marketing manager, told ElectricNews.Net. The firm aims to pursue this market with what it considers to be its revenue generating premium services, such as Smart Services.

"Our launch pack of Smart Services will guarantee immediate bottom-line impact as well as offering longer-term advantages regarding market differentiation and customer retention," claimed Gerry McKenna, CEO of Anam, in a statement.

The Irish firm currently employs 75 people at a number of offices worldwide including its main headquarters in Dublin and operations in Boston and Kuala Lumpar. The investment from Motorola will see Anam further increasing its headcount in the coming year, according to O'Nolan, who said the firm was currently in the process of expanding its development and operations team in Dublin.

Both Mayfair Venture Capital and Enterprise Ireland have invested in Anam since its launch, with Mayfair completing two funding rounds with the mobile software firm.