TARRYTOWN, N.Y., Nov. 4, 2008 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Open-Xchange Inc. (www.open-xchange.com), the leading provider of open source collaboration software, has closed a Series B round of venture funding totaling $9 million.
The company will use the funds to further develop its software and continue expanding its business in the U.S., Europe and emerging markets.
The round was led by eCAPITAL entrepreneurial Partners AG, a Munster, Germany-based, high-growth IT (Information Technology) equity firm. Also participating are Munich-based, BayBG, and existing Munich-based investor, BayTech Venture Capital. Frank Hoelzle, managing partner at eCAPITAL, will join the Open-Xchange board of directors. Terms of the financing deal were not disclosed.
Built as open source software, Open-Xchange is an affordable alternative to commercial email/collaboration platforms like Microsoft Exchange and SharePoint providing an equivalent user experience with features like mobility support (iPhones, Blackberry), document sharing, shared calendars and shared address books. The simple, intuitive software facilitates effective teamwork by improved communications.
This year, Open-Xchange has increased by four times the number of paid mailboxes to 8.4 million as a result of deals with:
* 1&1, the #1 hosting company worldwide; * Network Solutions, the #3 hosting company in the U.S.; * OVH, the #1 hosting company in France; * Hostpoint, the #1 hosting company in Switzerland.
"We're at a point of unprecedented growth in our company's history and will use these funds to help us add another 10 million mailboxes next year," said Rafael Laguna, CEO of Open-Xchange. "As the lifeblood of every organization no matter what size, email and collaboration are going through a phase of dramatic change in many cases to hosted delivery and software as a service."
In September, new versions of Open-Xchange software were announced for both hosted and on-premise implementations. The company also recently announced agreements with O3SIS and Funambol that enable Internet Service Providers (ISPs), telcos and web hosting companies, as well as on-premise customers to offer end users the ability to access email from mobile phones. In May, Open-Xchange signed a broad cooperative agreement with Parallels to integrate its software. Parallels management and automation software is the definitive standard for ISPs and web hosting companies.
Open-Xchange received a total of $8.8 million in a Series A financing round from Business Angels and BayTech Venture Capital in 2006, shortly before the launch of its product with its first hosting customer 1&1 in February 2007.
About eCAPITAL (www.ecapital.de)
The eCAPITAL entrepreneurial Partners AG venture capital company is managed by entrepreneurs and is located in Munster, Germany. Since 1999, the company supports innovative business people in promising industries. The investment focus is on innovative, high-growth companies in information technology/communications, new materials and optical technologies sectors. eCAPITAL currently manages four funds. It invests in technology companies, as well as small- and medium-sized companies throughout Germany.
About BayTech Venture Capital (www.baytechventure.com)
BayTech Venture Capital is a leading European venture capital firm with the ambition of helping the best entrepreneurs build the most successful companies in their fields of expertise. Baytech invests at an early stage in start-up companies in the sectors Technology and Life Sciences in Western Europe, especially in Germany and France. The contribution to success in the growth phase of these companies is not limited to capital. The money provided goes along with the experience in company building and the industry expertise of the investment professionals, access to the worldwide network and the respect for the values and the contribution of the entrepreneurs Baytech works with.
About BayBG Bayerische Beteiligungsgesellschaft mbH (www.baybg.de)
BayBG is one of the most important investment companies for medium-sized enterprises in Germany. BayBG is currently strengthening the capital base of medium-sized businesses with around 300 million Euros. Through its investments, BayBG enables the companies to realize expansion and innovation plans, make corporate succession plans, as well as optimize the capital structure.
About Open-Xchange Inc.
Open-Xchange Inc. is the innovator of scalable and integrated open source email and collaboration solutions for enterprises, academic institutions, and government authorities. It provides an on-premise version called Open-Xchange Server Edition, along with Open-Xchange Hosting Edition, which enables web hosting companies to provide an easy-to-use and feature-rich application delivered as Software as a Service (SaaS). The Open-Xchange Hosting Edition is architected to integrate into a hosting provider's existing infrastructure such as authentication, provisioning, billing, and email storage and does not require that these systems be replaced.
Open-Xchange Inc. is a privately-held company headquartered in Tarrytown, N.Y., with research, development, and operations in Olpe and Nuremberg, Germany. For more information, please visit www.open-xchange.com.