VoodooVox Closes $8.1M Financing Round Led by Softbank Capital

September 11, 2007 09:01 AM EDT

Financial Endorsement, Coupled With Advertising Support From Disney, Microsoft, Showtime, and Nokia, are Indicative of the Appeal of In-Call Media^TM

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--VoodooVox, pioneering developers of In-Call Media^TM and operators of the world’s only In-Call Network^TM, today announced the closing of a $8.1 million Series D round of financing led by Softbank Capital. Existing investors, Apax Partners, Disney’s Steamboat Ventures, and Village Ventures, also participated in the round.

VoodooVox is the driving force behind In-Call Media, the patent-pending process of inserting ad-supported audio content directly into the call stream of high-call volume companies. Currently integrated into hundreds of leading telecom “publishers” generating 300 million calls monthly, the VoodooVox In-Call Network is creating new revenue for world-renowned brands including IDT, Univision, Virgin Mobile, Nokia, Microsoft and Showtime, among others.

“Phone calls are the new page views, and VoodooVox’s In-Call Network is the next breakthrough advertising channel,” said J. Scott Hamilton, president and CEO of VoodooVox. “We strongly believe that most telephony services that consumers currently pay for can be delivered profitably and for less with advertising support. VoodooVox’s In-Call Media represents the new standard by which all voice-based marketing will be gauged.”

The VoodooVox In-Call Network offers the benefits of traditional broadcast media — rich audio — with the targeting and measurability of online advertising.

The VoodooVox In-call Network is managed precisely like traditional banner networks: ads are trafficked directly into the call stream of a diverse group of publishers, and the network serves as a one-stop source of inventory for advertisers and marketers.

“The potential for ad-supported telephony extends far beyond directory assistance applications,” said Steve Murray, partner, Softbank Capital. “The VoodooVox In-Call Network can be extended to other voice applications, including mobile phones, call centers, and the thousands of new audio-based web widgets that are very popular with the explosive growth of social networks. Over time, we expect VoodooVox to help drive new applications, improve customer experiences, and decrease pricing for consumer telephony services of all kinds while raising profitability for the call publishers that provide these services.”

With this financing, Mr. Murray joins VoodooVox’s Board of Directors.

The Caller is Always Right

In-Call Media enhances the caller’s experience through lower rates, better service, or both. “We’ve served hundreds of millions of audio impressions into diverse call streams, and it’s unequivocally clear that consumers are engaged by In-Call Media,” said VoodooVox CEO Hamilton.

About VoodooVox

VoodooVox is the developer of the In-Call Network^TM, an audio advertising and content server integrated into the call stream of hundreds of high-call volume companies in the U.S., Europe and Canada. Through the In-Call Network, callers receive an enhanced experience at lower rates; call publishers enjoy new revenue streams; and advertisers have access to a captive and receptive audience. Every stakeholder in the telephony value chain benefits from In-Call Media.

About Softbank Partners

SoftBank Capital was formed to make U.S. based venture capital equity investments in technology companies benefiting from the wide scale deployment of broadband and related telephony technologies.

Its partners have over 120 years of collective experience with growth oriented technology companies. We leverage our extensive experience in operations, business development, capital markets, international expansion and technology to provide companies with a distinctive advantage. The partners of SoftBank Capital are collectively responsible for billions of dollars of gains on investments, including Yahoo!, E*Trade, UT Starcom, GeoCities, Ziff Davis and GSI Commerce.