Flirtomatic Raises $9 Million In Series C Funding

July 14, 2010 - PRLog -- SAN FRANCISCO, CA, JULY 14, 2010 – Flirtomatic (http://www.flirtomatic.com), the world’s #1 flirting company, has announced that it has raised $9 million in Series C funding from Nauta Capital and existing investors Doughty Hanson, Seraphim Capital and Chairman Avi Azulai. Flirtomatic will use the new funds to further its growth across the U.S. and Europe, and to expand its co-marketing efforts with partners that include: AT&T, MetroPCS, Virgin Mobile, T-Mobile, and the recent distribution deal with a multi-national operator, launching Flirtomatic across an initial eight countries, under a single payment and billing system.

This year, Flirtomatic, which has more than 2.5 million users in the U.S. and UK, also launched its iPhone, iPod Touch and Android apps, and this summer is making its service available via a Blackberry application and at the Ovi Store.

“Flirtomatic’s success is built upon ground-breaking monetization techniques coupled with a multi-channel distribution strategy. This new investment will allow us to accelerate investment in international markets, to continue to drive innovation, and build on our position as one of the most viewed mobile sites according to the GSMA and comScore,” said Flirtomatic CEO and co-founder Mark Curtis.

“Flirtomatic is the international market leader with a proven team, best of breed monetization, and high-profile distribution partners. The fundamentals are compelling and we are excited to be a part of the company’s extensive expansion,” added Javier Rubio, General Partner at Nauta Capital.

“We have been with the company since the early days and are delighted to be an ongoing part of its impressive success. Flirtomatic has really figured out how to attract and engage mobile consumers,” commented Ivan Farneti, Doughty Hanson Technology Ventures.

About Flirtomatic
Flirtomatic (www.flirtomatic.com) is the world’s #1 flirting company. Flirtomatic operates a free service across the U.S., UK, Germany, Australia, Spain and Italy, where over 2.5 million registered users meet, flirt and have fun online.  Flirtomatic has distribution partnerships with Vodafone, T-Mobile, Orange, MetroPCS, ninemsn, ProSiebenSat1 and Samsung.  Flirtomatic’s advertising partners include: O2, Nokia, and L’Oreal. Founded in 2005, Flirtomatic is a venture-backed company that has raised over $17 million, and was founded by Mark Curtis, who founded Razorfish London and Fjord; and Avi Azulai, founder and Group Managing Director of ITouch plc.

Flirtomatic can be found online at: www.flirtomatic.com; on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/flirtomark

About Nauta Capital
Nauta Capital is an international venture capital firm with offices in Barcelona and Boston. Nauta manages three funds with a total of $230 million under management. Nauta invests between $0.7M and $8M in companies in the Technology and Telecommunications sectors. Nauta’s target companies for investment are in their very early stage of development (Seed Capital) and until more advanced stages of development (series A and series B financing rounds). Nauta has three main investment practices: Wireless/Mobility; Enterprise Software/Security; and ecommerce/Internet related businesses. The geographic scope for its investments covers Western Europe and the U.S. Nauta launched its new fund Nauta III in July 2009, with a size of $150M. www.nautacapital.com

About Doughty Hanson Technology Ventures
Doughty Hanson Technology Ventures aims to help talented entrepreneurs in Europe to build world-class technology companies. Founded in 2000, Doughty Hanson Technology Ventures is an early-stage, venture capital fund operating from London, Munich, and San Francisco. The fund focuses on emerging technology sectors in the areas of mobile communications, internet software, and clean technologies.
Having established a long track record of successful venture capital investments in Europe and the United States, the team relies on its experience, personal networks and the resources of Doughty Hanson & Co, one of Europe's largest independent private equity firms, to help identify and grow investment opportunities. www.doughtyhanson.com/technologyventures

About Seraphim Capital
Seraphim is a UK-based venture capital fund that invests in companies with highly scaleable, disruptive technology that are addressing large global markets. Seraphim invests across all sectors and all stages. The fund is backed by a consortium of business angel networks and corporate venturers from across the UK and the U.S. The consortium includes Europe's largest early stage venture investor as well as the leading angel networks from across the UK and the U.S. Seraphim currently has a portfolio of 10 investments spanning the internet, mobile, enterprise software, life sciences and semiconductors sectors and expects to make up to a further five investments over the course of the next 18 months. www.seraphimcapital.co.uk

Media Contact:
Mark de la Viña
Consort Partners
flirtomatic@consortpartners.com
Tel: +1 415 282 4795

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