LAGUNA NIGUEL, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–June 9, 2003–Bitfone Corp. (www.bitfone.com), a leader in over-the-air (OTA) firmware update technology for mobile phones, today announced that it has securedfunding from KTB Ventures, bringing the company’s total investment to more than $32.5 million.
KTB is the largest private equity firm with headquarters in Korea, whose shareholders and limited partners include the leading handset manufacturers and wireless carriers in Korea.
“KTB’s investment is a terrific win for Bitfone and will strengthen our presence in the Asia marketplace,” said Gene Wang, chairman and CEO, Bitfone. “With such outstanding investment partners from the United States, Europe and Asia, we are well-equipped to execute on our global go-to-market strategy.”
“Handset manufacturers and wireless operators in Asia should find tremendous rewards in OTA update solutions,” said Sung Yoon, managing partner, KTB Ventures. “We are excited about Bitfone’s compelling value proposition for the global wireless industry.”
Bitfone’s market-leading mProve is the first product to update a wireless phone’s entire firmware image over-the-air, with 100 percent fault tolerance. With mProve, manufacturers and carriers can eliminate product recalls, phone replacements and retail center servicing to update the phone’s embedded operating system, resulting in significant cost savings and accelerated time to market.
About KTB Ventures
KTB Ventures is the United States operation of KTBnetwork, based in Seoul, Korea. Since its establishment in 1981, KTBnetwork has been the Korean leader in venture capital, private equity and corporate restructuring transactions. KTB Ventures is located in Palo Alto, Calif., and focuses on U.S. companies developing leading technologies with the potential for significant global impact. More information at www.ktbvc.com.
About Bitfone Corp.
Bitfone Corp. provides innovative software solutions for mobile device management. Bitfone’s mProve(TM) is the wireless industry’s leading technology that updates a mobile phone’s core embedded operating system over the air, in a secure and fault-tolerant manner. mProve offers wireless manufacturers and carriers significant cost savings in the areas of warranty, recall and customer service, and expedites the time to market for mobile phones.
Bitfone is a global company with headquarters in Laguna Niguel, with offices in Finland, Japan and Korea. Bitfone’s investors include Nokia Venture Partners, St. Paul Venture Capital, 3i, Nexit Ventures, Orange Ventures, KTB Ventures and CIR Ventures. For more information, visit www.bitfone.com.
