"We are extremely pleased to have Yaletown Venture Partners join us as the first institutional investor in Mingleverse," said Stevens. "It's difficult for Canadian startups to access early-stage financing these days, but at Mingleverse we've been very fortunate to draw the attention of this top-tier Canadian VC and to tap into their experience and networks."
The proceeds of this financing will allow Mingleverse to expand the marketing programs for its mobile offering and move forward with integration into social networking platforms to help meet the needs of cellular carriers.
"Our investment recognizes Mingleverse's potential to move the "state of the art" for internet and mobile communications beyond mere person-to-person video calling," said Mike Satterfield, Partner with Yaletown. "The technology is compelling, and the range of applications for Mingleverse seems limited only by the imagination of its growing community of enthusiastic users."
The Mingleverse live social communication service, now with users in 196 countries, enhances the way people use social networking. Mingling allows natural conversation in 3D high def voice while sharing media (pictures, TV or YouTube) with anyone in your network. The virtual room can be displayed in either 2D or 3D, decorated to suit the individual, admission-based, or ad-enabled to derive revenue. Users can mingle around the room, and watch the same content on one big screen like in their living room, office, or sports bar.
"People often compare Mingleverse to WebEx, Skype, or Second Life. While Mingleverse shares characteristics with each of these, Mingleverse is something entirely new and innovative as it is lightweight, multi-device, socially engaging, and above all, very inexpensive to operate," said Derek Kerton of the Telecom Council of Silicon Valley. "Mobile carriers are looking for ways to participate in the growing social networking sector and this is a tool that can help them enhance their core business of connecting people."
Mingleverse is working with cellular carriers and handset makers to deliver an approved Live Social Network service they can customize and offer to their subscribers. Carriers will offer new service models around media sharing, advertising, and multi-person voice during a mingle call. New revenue can also be derived from virtual goods, room decoration, and live Mingle event ticketing. Currently, the Mingleverse application is quick to install in your browser and allows 2 to 50 participants to be on a live 3D voice call while viewing the same content, which is a big improvement over the normal limitation of just a one-to-one video call.
Mingleverse was awarded "Most Innovative New Mobile 4G WiMax Company" by the Stanford Centre for Professional Development and Best "First Look" Company 2010 by the Canadian Financing Forum. Mingleverse was also a finalist for the BC Technology Industry Association's 2010 Technology Impact Awards.
