yuilop Raises 4.5 Million Euro Series A Round for International  Expansion

 

Barcelona, xxxx 2012 – yuilop, the free-to-all social communication service, announced today that it has closed a 4.5 million Euro ($6M) Series A round led by Hamburg-based Shortcut, and co-investors, the Russian VC Bright Capital and private telecom investor Bruno Ducharme, as well as continued participation of existing investor Nauta Capital. 
The funds will be used to drive yuilop's aggressive international expansion and continuous improvement of the product.
yuilop’s mission is to make mobile communication free, regardless of channel, device or carrier.  The company offers a free-to-all social communication service - app based - for all of the major mobile platforms which integrates Facebook Chat, IM, and free and unlimited SMS text messaging to any phone, anywhere in the world, with support for free calls coming soon. 
Unlike other social messaging or VoIP apps, yuilop is able to offer free and full SMS functionality (and in future, free calls to mobiles and fixed lines) through being ad-supported and by employing gamification via yuilop’s unique points-based “energy” system which rewards users based on how they use the app.
The service launched first in Germany last year, becoming the number one free Social Networking app in the iOS App Store, and more recently expanded to Spain, where it is on course to achieve the same.
New board appointments
Shortcut will be represented on yuilop’s board by Martin Ostermayer, while Vadim Tarasov from Bright Capital also joins the board. In addition, Bruno Ducharme will join the board as advisor.
Jochen Doppelhammer, CEO of yuilop: “We are delighted to have attracted such a high caliber group of investors, including the continued support of Nauta, which shows a lot of confidence in yuilop’s mission to make mobile communication free-to-all, regardless of channel, device or carrier."
Martin Ostermayer, Partner at Shortcut: “yuilop is founded by a team of experienced entrepreneurs who have a proven track record of disrupting the telecoms industry, and this coupled with great technology and an ambitious mission, fits perfectly with our investment strategy which focuses on international startups specializing in the fields of Internet, Mobile, Games, and Social Media.”
Vadim Tarasov, Investment Director at Bright Capital: “We are excited to invest in such a rapidly developing business like yuilop, that is changing the landscape of the telecom industry. It has  enormous potential and is very well positioned compared with the competition. We'll be happy to  promote yuilop to the markets of Russia and CIS”.   

Barcelona, May 22, 2012 – yuilop, the free-to-all social communication service, announced today that it has closed a 4.5 million Euro ($6M) Series A round led by Hamburg-based Shortcut, and co-investors, the Russian VC Bright Capital and private telecom investor Bruno Ducharme, as well as continued participation of existing investor Nauta Capital. 

The funds will be used to drive yuilop's aggressive international expansion and continuous improvement of the product.

yuilop’s mission is to make mobile communication free, regardless of channel, device or carrier.  The company offers a free-to-all social communication service - app based - for all of the major mobile platforms which integrates Facebook Chat, IM, and free and unlimited SMS text messaging to any phone, anywhere in the world, with support for free calls coming soon. 

Unlike other social messaging or VoIP apps, yuilop is able to offer free and full SMS functionality (and in future, free calls to mobiles and fixed lines) through being ad-supported and by employing gamification via yuilop’s unique points-based “energy” system which rewards users based on how they use the app.

The service launched first in Germany last year, becoming the number one free Social Networking app in the iOS App Store, and more recently expanded to Spain, where it is on course to achieve the same.

New board appointments

Shortcut will be represented on yuilop’s board by Martin Ostermayer, while Vadim Tarasov from Bright Capital also joins the board. In addition, Bruno Ducharme will join the board as advisor.

Jochen Doppelhammer, CEO of yuilop: “We are delighted to have attracted such a high caliber group of investors, including the continued support of Nauta, which shows a lot of confidence in yuilop’s mission to make mobile communication free-to-all, regardless of channel, device or carrier."

Martin Ostermayer, Partner at Shortcut: “yuilop is founded by a team of experienced entrepreneurs who have a proven track record of disrupting the telecoms industry, and this coupled with great technology and an ambitious mission, fits perfectly with our investment strategy which focuses on international startups specializing in the fields of Internet, Mobile, Games, and Social Media.”

Vadim Tarasov, Investment Director at Bright Capital: “We are excited to invest in such a rapidly developing business like yuilop, that is changing the landscape of the telecom industry. It has  enormous potential and is very well positioned compared with the competition. We'll be happy to  promote yuilop to the markets of Russia and CIS”.  

 

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