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Gearworks Secures $21.4 Million
in Growth Capital
New Round Led By Split Rock Ventures
and Rho Ventures; Capital Will be Used to Accelerate Company’s
Leadership Position in Carrier-Delivered, Location-Based Mobile
Applications
MINNEAPOLIS
February 21, 2007
Gearworks, a leading provider of location-based
mobile business applications, today announced it has raised $21.4
million in growth capital. New investors Split Rock Partners and
Rho Ventures led the financing. Michael Gorman of Split Rock Partners
and Ben Terk of Rho Ventures will join the company’s board
of directors. Bluestream Ventures, an early supporter of the company,
increased its position through this financing.
“This capital comes at an exciting inflection point for Gearworks
and will enable us to drive growth by expanding our products, sales
channels and wireless carrier partnerships,” said Todd Krautkremer,
president and chief executive officer of Gearworks. “I’m
pleased our business has garnered the support of Split Rock Partners
and Rho Ventures, and I look forward to their collaboration as we
build Gearworks into a location-based, mobile application powerhouse.”
Gearworks provides on-demand mobile applications
that enable businesses of all sizes to cost-effectively supervise
and optimize their mobile
workforces and field-based activities. By delivering its Software-as-a-Service
(SaaS) solution across the internet and on a monthly subscription
basis, customers can start using it right away to better manage
their mobile workforces without significant upfront costs and
complexity. Gearworks partners with wireless carriers across North
America that
distribute and bill for its mobile applications under the etrace® (e.g.
Sprint® and Southern Linc) and carrier-labeled brands.
The
market for handset-based LBS (location based service) applications
is forecasted to grow significantly over the next three years, and
Gearworks believes it is well-positioned to take advantage of this
growth. According to a recent study by ABI Research, worldwide carrier
deployments of LBS handset applications will top 144 million subscribers
by 2010, with 76 million expected to be deployed within business
customer environments. Since the launch of its carrier-driven strategy
in 2004, Gearworks has secured more than 2,500 customers, including
some of the nation’s leading service-oriented brands like
Pepsi Bottling Group, Select Comfort and Roto-Rooter. In 2006, Gearworks
achieved more than 152 percent year-over-year growth in new deployed
mobile users.
“Rho has been following the emergent LBS mobile business
application market for several years with keen interest and believes
Gearworks is best positioned to win based on its team, technology
and traction with wireless carriers in North America,” Terk
said.
“By combining off-the-shelf mobile applications with a carrier-grade
application delivery platform that enables rapid development of
new and carrier-branded solutions, we believe Gearworks is poised
to become the leading provider of carrier-delivered, LBS mobile
business applications,” Gorman said. “Gearworks has
established a phenomenal foundation from which to build upon.”
BlueStream
Ventures is an early-stage investor in Gearworks and current board
member Travis Winkey, managing partner of BlueStream
Ventures, commented, “With this round of funding and the resource
and relationship assets that Split Rock Partners and Rho Ventures
bring to the table, Gearworks is in a great position to capitalize
on its momentum and accelerate growth.”
About Gearworks
Gearworks (www.gearworks.com) provides location-based mobile business
applications – in collaboration with wireless carriers – that
enable customers to better manage their mobile resources. Today,
Gearworks-powered solutions are used by service-driven companies
of all sizes to supervise and optimize their personnel and activities
in the field as easily as they do in the office. The company partners
with leading wireless carriers across North America for distribution
and billing, and leverages its carrier-grade, Software-as-a-Service
(SaaS) platform to ensure high reliability and a seamless customer
experience. Gearworks’ mobile business applications serve
thousands of small-to-medium sized business and enterprise customers
across a broad range of industries — including construction,
health care, field service, home and store delivery, utilities
and government services.
About Split Rock Partners
Split Rock Partners, with offices in Minneapolis and Menlo Park,
seeks emerging opportunities in software, internet services
and healthcare primarily in the Upper Midwest and West Coast.
Split
Rock Partners was formed in June 2004 by the software and healthcare
investment teams of St. Paul Venture Capital and continues to
manage St. Paul Venture Capital’s existing software and
healthcare portfolio. Representative software and internet services
companies in the Split Rock Portfolio include Compete, LowerMyBills
(sold to Experian in 2005), SPS Commerce, and QuinStreet. In May
of 2005, the firm announced the closing of Split Rock Partners
L.P, a $275 million venture fund. Additional information about
Split Rock Partners can be found at www.splitrock.com.
About Rho Ventures
Rho has been backing venture-stage companies in the U.S. since
its inception in 1981. Venture capital funds under management
currently
exceed $1 billion. Rho Ventures has invested in over 165 venture
stage companies and helped build market leaders across many
high growth industries. Previous investments include Ciena Corporation,
Commerce One, Compaq Computer Corporation, Diversa Corporation,
Human Genome Sciences, Inc., iVillage, Leukosite (currently
part
of Millenium Pharmaceuticals), MedImmune, Inc., NitroMed, Senomyx,
Tercica, Tripod (currently part of Lycos), Vanda Pharmaceuticals
and Vicuron. More information on Rho can be found at www.rho.com.
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