Taptu Secures Series B Funding and Appoints Chief Operating Officer to Drive Global Growth Andreas Bernstrom Chosen to Oversee G

CAMBRIDGE, England, Dec 16, 2008 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Taptu, the pure-play mobile search engine, has secured GBP 6.45m in series B funding from its existing investors 3i and Sofinnova investments and has appointed Andreas Bernstrom to the position of Chief Operating Officer (COO). Andreas will be part of Taptu's senior management team, responsible for managing the company's commercial growth and formalising Taptu's mobile advertising position, worldwide. The funding was secured in recognition of the success that Taptu has already achieved both here and in the United States, and to accelerate Taptu's continued growth over the next 12 months. Bernstrom has over 10 years experience driving growth in digital marketing companies. Previously COO at TradeDoubler, a leading Internet marketing company, Bernstrom expanded and grew the company in 19 markets, managing over 550 staff, and was responsible for driving the product development, marketing, sales and distribution strategies for its search, affiliate and technology products. Before working at TradeDoubler, Andreas worked at Goldman Sachs and Merrill Lynch. Bernstrom said: "With significant funding achieved, in a market where investment is hard to come by, we are poised to become an attractive proposition for marketers and advertisers looking to capitalise on the explosion in mobile web usage - Gartner reveals that mobile data revenues overtook voice revenues for the first time in 2008 and that mobile search will be worth USD 12 Billion by 2013. We are best placed to offer marketers the most engaging environment in which to reach consumers with carefully targeted, relevant advertising." Steve Ives, CEO and founder of Taptu, said: "Taptu has had a stellar year, having won numerous awards including Best Mobile Search provider 2008 at the MEA awards and now achieving Series B funding from our investors. It's great timing to bring Andreas on board. He brings with him valuable experience that will help us drive Taptu forward as a business and will play an important part in developing our business presence overseas as well as maintaining momentum in the UK." Oliver Sichel, Partner at Sofinnova Investments, says: "With the ever-increasing adoption of the mobile internet, thanks to improved networks and new multimedia handsets, Sofinnova is extremely pleased and proud to continue to support Taptu. We have seen dramatic improvements in the Taptu service and huge growth in users over the last 12 months. Andreas Bernstrom brings with him tremendous experience in helping companies achieve sustained growth." About Taptu Taptu is the award winning mobile search engine. It has been championed by industry and consumers alike for its innovative approach. Taptu provides super-fast entertainment search and is experiencing exponential growth in its traffic. Taptu is available directly to consumers at taptu.com and to mobile publishers, portals and social networks via a suite of customizable search engine APIs. Partners can leverage the power of Taptu's fast mobile search engine to enable their users to search on-portal content or the broader mobile web. Moreover, as the mobile advertising market develops, Taptu is assisting their partners in readying themselves to earn revenues from mobile search via sponsored links advertising. Taptu is available by visiting http://taptu.com on any internet-enabled mobile phones with a standard mobile browser (no download required) and is accessible worldwide in English, Spanish, Italian, French and German. Founded in 2007, Taptu is privately held with investors including 3i and Sofinnova.