Seven flush with $42M in new funding, gains new CEO

Financiers continue to flood the white-hot-and increasingly litigious-mobile e-mail space. Specifically, white-label wireless e-mail provider Seven Networks Inc. snared $42 million in an oversubscribed round of funding. The company said undisclosed new investors joined existing backers, which include Amadeus Capital Partners Ltd., Greyloack, Ignition L.L.C., Saints and Softbank Asia Infrastructure Fund.
Seven also expanded its front office, appointing Ross Bott as its new CEO. Bott replaces Kent Thexton, who will assume the title of executive chairman and “remain actively involved” with the company.
One of a handful of startups vying for a piece of the ever-increasing mobile e-mail pie, Seven has gained traction in the marketplace-if not the courtroom. The company earlier this year lost a patent-infringement suit brought by Visto Corp. in a judgment it continues to fight, but has seen its carrier-customer base grow from 76 to 108 in 2006.
The company counts Sprint Nextel Corp., Alltel and 3 among its network operator partners. Seven cited a recent UBS report that found it to have the second-largest market share in the mobile e-mail space after Research In Motion Ltd., claiming more users than Visto, Good Technology Inc. and Intellisync combined.
Visto has since set its sights on both RIM and Good, which was snapped up last month by Motorola Inc. And both Visto and Seven can continue to pay their lawyers: Visto, which recently closed a $51 million round of funding, has pocketed a staggering $250 million in its nine-year history.
Seven said it will use the capital to win new customers and expand existing carrier relationships.
“Seven-powered mobile e-mail is now available to both consumers and enterprises on nearly every new mobile phone in the market from more than 100 mobile operators in markets around the globe,” said Thexton. “We are in a unique position to seize the opportunity.”