BlackBerry Partners Fund’s New Investments

Ok, forgive me for being late on a lot of news that has appeared since yesterday.  I have been very busy studying for midterms, but it is over for today and it’s time to play catch up.  First, the BlackBerry Partners Fund has some new investments.  They have picked up 3 new developers to invest a bunch of money into.  Here they are:

• buzzd, a location-sensitive city guide and social network for mobile devices, has raised $3.2 million in a Series A Preferred Stock financing with BlackBerry Partners Fund,
  Greycroft Partners, Monitor Ventures and Qualcomm Ventures.
• Digby, a leading mobile commerce service provider, has raised $5.5 million Series B
  Preferred Stock with the BlackBerry Partners Fund and existing shareholders.
• WorldMate, a company that has paved the way for mobile travel innovation and
  serves over one million frequent flyers and road warriors around the world, has raised
  $8 million in a Series C Preferred Stock financing with BlackBerry Partners Fund,
  Motorola Ventures and AMC Communications.

Congrats to all WorldMate, Digby, and buzzd! Keep up the great work guys!  And that goes for all you BlackBerry developers, we love the work you are doing for us!

To read the full press release

Media Release
BlackBerry Partners Fund Announces
Investments in buzzd, Digby and WorldMate
Mobile social networking, commerce and travel applications to receive
funding from the BlackBerry Partners Fund
Toronto – October 29, 2008 – The BlackBerry Partners Fund LP, a $150 million venture capital
fund formed to focus on applications and services for the BlackBerry® and other mobile
platforms, announced today that the Fund has made investments in buzzd, Digby and
WorldMate.
“Since its inception this past May, the BlackBerry Partners Fund has had the opportunity to
review thousands of business plans from companies focused on developing the next
generation of business and consumer applications for BlackBerry and other smartphone
platforms,” said John Albright, Co-Managing Partner of the BlackBerry Partners Fund.
“Today, we are announcing investments in companies that are leaders in the mobile
application marketplace.”
“Around the world, people are becoming increasingly reliant on mobile devices in every
facet of their lives, whether for business or personal use,” said Kevin Talbot, Co-Managing
Partner of the BlackBerry Partners Fund. “To capitalize on this unprecedented market
opportunity, the BlackBerry Partners Fund is helping entrepreneurs drive innovation and
develop cutting-edge mobile applications and services with a compelling user experience.
Our goal is to be the primary destination for entrepreneurs that are building behavior
changing smartphone applications and that are determined to be the architects of the
mobile ecosystem of the future.”
BlackBerry Partners Fund is proud to announce the following investments:
· buzzd, a location-sensitive city guide and social network for mobile devices, has raised
$3.2 million in a Series A Preferred Stock financing with BlackBerry Partners Fund,
Greycroft Partners, Monitor Ventures and Qualcomm Ventures.
“buzzd is proud to be one of the first investments of the pioneering Blackberry Partners
Fund,” said Nihal Mehta, CEO of buzzd. “With the proliferation of smart phones around
the world, we are excited to be part of a revolution that leverages rich handset
functionality such as location-sensitivity and increased relevance to consumers
everywhere.”
· Digby, a leading mobile commerce service provider, has raised $5.5 million Series B
Preferred Stock with the BlackBerry Partners Fund and existing shareholders.
“We’re thrilled to be working with the BlackBerry Partners Fund to advance our business
to the next level. Their knowledge of the mobile market and experience with building
successful companies will play a critical role as we expand our marketing and sales
activities”, said Dave Sikora, Founder and CEO of Digby, Inc. “We are looking forward
to solidifying our leadership position and accelerating adoption of our storefronts in the
mobile commerce market.”
· WorldMate, a company that has paved the way for mobile travel innovation and
serves over one million frequent flyers and road warriors around the world, has raised
$8 million in a Series C Preferred Stock financing with BlackBerry Partners Fund,
Motorola Ventures and AMC Communications.
“We share the BlackBerry Partners Fund’s vision for a mobile internet business based on
meaningful, valuable and profitable consumer experiences, and are honored that
they consider us one of the companies spearheading movement toward this vision,”
said Nadav Gur, CEO of WorldMate. “We’ve been instrumental in helping the travel
industry enter the mobile space. This funding, as well as our association with the
BlackBerry Partners Fund will help us take our leadership in this segment to the next
level of commercial success.”
About BlackBerry Partners Fund
The BlackBerry Partners Fund™ is designed to deliver superior returns on the compelling
investment opportunity in applications, services and supporting infrastructure for the
BlackBerry and other mobile platforms. The Fund’s mandate is based on the premise that in
the future smartphones will be powerful portable computers for use at home, work, and
leisure. The Fund invests in companies developing applications that make smartphones a
compelling platform for media, commerce, enterprise, entertainment, and lifestyle
applications. The Fund is global in scope, will consider all stages of development and is comanaged
by JLA Ventures and RBC Venture Partners. For further information visit:
www.blackberrypartnersfund.com.
About buzzd
buzzd (http://buzzd.com) is a location-sensitive city guide and social network on the mobile
device. buzzd answers the question, “What’s going on around me right now? ™” by allowing
consumers to get up-to-the minute information on what’s happening at any venue right now,
rate events and connect with friends and other people in the area.

About Digby
Digby is the premier mobile commerce solution provider powering the mobile channel for
top retailers. The award winning Powered by Digby platform delivers an optimized shopping
experience with both web and application based mobile storefronts that include easy
search, browse and purchase capabilities, personal information integration, secure wallet
and location based service functionality. Led by software industry veterans, the privately
held company is headquartered in Austin, Texas. For additional information, please visit
www.digby.com.
About WorldMate, Inc.
Based in Lod, Israel, privately held WorldMate® develops award-winning mobile travel
software. Removing stress and paperwork from the travel experience, WorldMate turns a
mobile device into a personal travel companion, providing frequent fliers all the travel
services they need at home, work or on the go. Dubbed a traveler’s “guardian angel,” the
newest addition to the WorldMate product family, WorldMate Live, tracks every trip and
sends real-time “push” alerts about itinerary updates and changes, including flight delays
and cancellations. WorldMate products also feature travel resources, such as flight
schedules, weather forecasts, travel directories, maps, world clocks, a currency converter
and much more. For more information, visit www.mobimate.com. WorldMate® is a
registered trademark of MobiMate Ltd. All other trade names and trademarks are the
property of their respective holders.

For more information, contact:
Brittany Todd Matthew Bogart
Porter Novelli BlackBerry Partners Fund
512-241-2255 416-367-2401
Brittany.todd@porternovelli.com matthew.bogart@blackberrypartnersfund.com\

via BlackBerryCool