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Tira Wireless backers bet $3M
October 16, 2002
by Vyvyan Tenorio
Gambling on wireless software applications startups amid the technology-standards turmoil plaguing the wireless industry has taken its toll on venture capital funds. The VC backers of applications-enabler Tira Wireless Inc., however, hope that whichever standards prevail, all will use Tira's technology.
The Toronto-based company has received $3 million in a first round led by Flagship Ventures of Cambridge, Mass., along with Brightspark Ventures of Toronto, which provided an undisclosed amount of seed financing to Tira earlier this year, before its $1.5 million commitment Wednesday, Oct. 16.
"Rather than bet on one particular wireless application, Tira aims to make a fundamental impact on the delivery of a variety of Java-based applications," said Jim Matheson, a Flagship principal who will join the board alongside Flagship managing director Roger Heinen.
Acting chief executive Tony Davis, a managing director at Brightspark, founded Tira in February (on loan from his firm) to solve the problem of enabling multiple applications on wireless devices, using the Java-based programming language known as J2ME. Although development work has taken about a year and a half, the company officially launched its product in February, and recently signed up its first major customer, AT&T Wireless.
Unlike other wireless infrastructure providers, which have yet to see the much-delayed third generation, or 3G, wireless equipment market materialize, Tira's software can be used in existing wireless systems, giving it a head start as 2.5 and 3G equipment are more broadly deployed over the next few years, Davis said.
Before co-founding Brightspark, a C$80 million ($50.5 million) early-stage venture fund, Davis created the WinFax facsimile management software product.
Davis, citing analysts' predictions, said about 421 million handsets will be Java-enabled by 2003 and Java programs will help stimulate handset sales in the medium term. By tapping a network of about 5,000 application developers, Tira builds a portfolio of applications, which it certifies for quality and reliability on network carriers, Davis said.
What differentiates Tira from other venture-backed competitors, such as San Diego-based Jamdat Mobile Inc. and Edinburgh, Scotland-based Digital Bridges Inc., is its broad array of applications, including entertainment, personal use products and business programs, he added.
Other potential rivals include 4th Pass Inc., a Seattle developer of mobile systems, and Santa Monica, Calif.-based entertainment aggregator Fandango Inc.
SOURCE: TheDeal.com
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