StrongMail Systems Secures $9.5 Million in Series B Funding
Company closes record quarter; Increases customer base by 51%
REDWOOD SHORES, CA — January 23, 2006 — StrongMail Systems, the innovation leader in email infrastructure software, today announced that it has closed a $9.5 million round in Series B funding. The round was led by Globespan Capital Partners, with additional financing from existing investors Sequoia Capital and Evercore Ventures. Venky Ganesan, managing director of Globespan Capital Partners, will join StrongMail's board of directors.
The announcement comes on the heels of a record financial quarter for the company, with a 51% increase in customers, including Citrix Online, BrassRing and HouseValues, among others. The funding will be used to expand company operations in response to increasing demand for its products.
StrongMail Systems develops email infrastructure software designed to meet the challenges of today's digital messaging environments. The company's products alleviate common problems such as poor deliverability, low visibility and data integration challenges. This enables businesses to leverage email in increasingly sophisticated ways to improve their bottom line.
"StrongMail embodies one of those rare combinations of talent, uniqueness and timing that provides an excellent investment opportunity for firms like Globespan," said Venky Ganesan, managing director of Globespan Capital Partners. "StrongMail has an acute understanding of the email delivery market, and an elegant solution with a growing list of satisfied customers that speaks to its potential."
StrongMail software includes a message transfer agent (MTA) optimized for email delivery, a message assembly engine for dynamic content, advanced message tracking, and the industry's only Live Updates and self-diagnostic tools for delivery assurance. StrongMail leverages a Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA) for easy integration with any business system via Web services or SMTP. Available as software or a turnkey appliance, StrongMail exceeds the performance requirements of even the most demanding enterprises and service providers with the ability to assemble, deliver and track over one million highly-dynamic messages on a single, standard server.
"Email and other forms of digital messaging hold enormous potential for businesses today, but most companies don't have the infrastructure they need to take advantage of it," said Sam Cece, CEO of StrongMail Systems. "Our customers use StrongMail software to simplify and enhance their infrastructure so that they can focus more on the value that digital messaging can bring to their business."
Cece continued, "Our Q4 results, coupled with strong financial support from top-tier investors like Globespan, clearly validate our view of the market."
ABOUT STRONGMAIL SYSTEMS
StrongMail Systems, the innovation leader in email infrastructure software, is the only company that has solved the email challenge at its core, thereby empowering businesses to fix, enhance and extend their email communications. StrongMail Systems has pioneered the email application server - the industry's first complete, fully integrated infrastructure solution for outbound email. Companies use StrongMail software to email-enable disparate business assets, and deliver marketing messages, order confirmations, and other transactional communications seamlessly and in real-time. StrongMail is application agnostic and easily integrates with CRM, e-commerce and financial applications, as well as custom developed solutions to unlock the potential of email for enterprises, service providers and ISV's. Founded in 2002, StrongMail Systems is privately held and funded by Globespan Capital Partners, Sequoia Capital and Evercore Ventures. The Company is headquartered in Redwood Shores, CA, and can be found on the Web at www.strongmail.com.About Sequoia Capital
Sequoia Capital provides venture capital funding to founders of startups who want to turn business ideas into companies. As the "Entrepreneurs Behind the Entrepreneurs", Sequoia Capital's Partners have worked with innovators such as Steve Jobs of Apple Computer, Larry Ellison of Oracle, Bob Swanson of Linear Technology, Sandy Lerner and Len Bozack of Cisco Systems, Dan Warmenhoven of Network Appliance, Jerry Yang and David Filo of Yahoo!, Jen-Hsun Huang of nVIDIA, Michael Marks of Flextronics, Larry Page and Sergey Brin of Google, Chad Hurley and Steve Chen of YouTube and Dominic Orr and Keerti Melkote of Aruba Wireless Networks. To learn more about Sequoia Capital visit www.sequoiacap.com.
Contact:
Mark D. Kvamme
SEQUOIA CAPITAL
kvamme@sequoiacap.com
