Macheen raises $10M in latest round of funding

Macheen Inc., an Austin-based mobile broadband service provider for retailers and device makers, announced that the company raised $10 million to put into product innovation, sales and marketing. Founded in 2009, Macheen has now raised a total $12.75 million to support expansion of the company’s office in Austin. Macheen also has an additional office in Dusseldorf, Germany.
Boston and San Mateo, Calif.-based North Bridge Venture Capital led the investment, along with funds from past investors DFJ Mercury and individual funding from Yechiam Yemini, Mike Maples Sr. and Tom Meredith.
The lead investor was North Bridge Venture Capital, which has offices in Boston and San Mateo, Calif. Macheen CEO Richard Swartz said the company of approximately 50 employees will use the extra monies to hire more staff in product development, product management and sales. As part of the arrangement, Basil Horangic of North Bridge is a new member of Macheen’s board.
Macheen allows users to purchase pre-connected devices for instant Internet connectivity on laptops, tablets and other mobile devices and shares revenue generated from users with mobile device manufacturers.
Consumers have the advantage of not having a service provider or contract but purchases access via pre-paid plans with a variety of options starting by the hour, day, week and beyond.
As previously reported by RCR Wireless News, Macheen’s first collaboration and launch of the company’s service was in March in conjunction with Round Rock-based Dell Inc. The product was introduced in Germany under the name NetReady, with Dell reporting it plans to expand the device and service agreement with Macheen to other European markets. The use of the company’s cloud computing software to wirelessly connect users and their devices with content is the driving force of Macheen’s business model.
In an interview at CTIA with Schwartz, the founder of Macheen compared his offering to Apple Inc.’s (APPL) App Store and Amazon’s Kindle e-reader services, which also deliver content to users through wireless networks.