Zannel Secures $10M in Series B Funding Led by Alloy Ventures

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Zannel (zannel.com), the mobile industry’s
first Instant Media Messaging™ service
allowing people to instantly update their friends and start real-time
conversations by sharing multi-media updates from mobile phones,
announced they have secured $10 million in Series B funding from Alloy
Ventures and existing Series A investors U.S. Venture Partners and
Palomar Ventures. To date, the company has raised at total of $16M.

"We spent over two years evaluating the mobile space and related
communication technologies and talked with numerous companies," said
David Ezequelle, Partner, Alloy Ventures. “When
we met with Zannel, they stood out immediately. We found a seasoned and
successful mobile team with a strong vision, and a solid business model.”

“We’re excited to
have David join our team, especially with his extensive experience in
special interest publishing and digital media,” said Adam Zbar, CEO of Zannel. “The mobile
phone is rapidly becoming the dominant platform for social
communication, and Zannel is fortunate to have the strong financial
backing and major partnerships to bring Instant Media Messaging™ to the mass market in the US and abroad.”

The funding will accelerate Zannel’s
leadership position in expanding the first large-scale, global mobile
media communications platform. Zannel attracts millions of visitors per
month and has developed over 50 partnerships with leading media and
consumer brands including Warner Bros., Universal Pictures, New Line
Cinema, Capitol Records, Activision, Konami, Ubisoft, Capcom, RipeTV,
Versaly, Mini Cooper, Toyota, Limelife and more. The service is
available on all mobile Internet and WAP-enabled handsets and online at
zannel.com and is distributed directly on select Verizon and Helio
handsets. Recent accolades include a 2008 Webby Award for Best Mobile
Social Network and being named by AlwaysOn to OnHollywood’s
100 Top Private Companies and as a NAPTE Top 3 Mobile Social Network.

“The roll-out of next generation mobile
phones, which combine powerful imaging and messaging capabilities with
high speed internet access, has allowed Zannel to develop a new form of
communication that is instant, highly visual, and soon location-based,” said Braxton Woodham, CTO of Zannel. “We’ve
just begun to scratch the surface of mobile’s
potential, and will continue to pioneer new ways for our users to stay
connected via their mobile devices.”

About Zannel

Zannel launched the mobile industry’s first
Instant Media Messaging™ service, which
allows users to instantly and visually communicate with their friends
across mobile and the web, including all major social networks. Founded
by the team that built the first large-scale mobile media storefronts in
the US, Zannel combines the best of mobile messaging, media sharing, and
social networking into an intuitive, compelling user experience. Zannel
is located in San Francisco, California and is backed by U.S. Venture
Partners, Palomar Ventures and Alloy Ventures.

About Alloy Ventures

Alloy Ventures is an early-stage venture capital firm with over $1
billion under management. They have helped start and cultivate more than
200 successful companies in the fields of information technology and
life sciences including such leading companies as Amgen, AMCC, Applied
Biosystems, Aspect Communications, CV Therapeutics, Favrille, IDEC
Pharmaceuticals, Nuance, Octel, PMC-Sierra, Red Brick Systems, Remedy
and Verity to name a few. For more information, visit www.alloyventures.com.