Mobile social networks photo and video-sharing platform Mobli Ltd. has raised $60 million, including a strategic investment by Mexico's América Móvil SAB de CV (NYSE: AMX; Nasdaq: AMOV; BMV: AMX), controlled by Carlos Slim, which will offer Mobli's services to its mobile users as part of a business collaboration.
Mobli will use the proceeds to launch and expand its visual search engine enabling its users to see the world through other people’s eyes, and to scroll back in time through previous images.
"The mobile access is significantly enriching our daily lives and is opening the door to completely new experiences for users around the world. Mobli has developed a remarkable technology and this strategic alliance will allow América Móvil to bring value added experiences for its users throughout the Americas,” said Slim. “The Mobli team has shown extraordinary skills in creating a powerful and innovative product for its users."
"This is an incredibly important milestone for Mobli - for our users, for our investors, and for our team. This represents a remarkable opportunity for Mobli and a greater responsibility to continue improving and building powerful technology,” said Mobli CEO and founder Moshe Hogeg. “Our new strategic partnership with América Móvil will allow us to reach a massive community of millions of users in Latin America."
Mobli, which launched in 2011, is a multi-platform photo and video sharing community focusing on connecting people around common interests by allowing users to follow people, hashtags and even locations straight to their feed.
Investors include sports and Hollywood celebrities, such as Leonardo DiCaprio, Tobey Maguire, Lance Armstrong, and Serena Williams, as well as Kazakh businessman Kenges Rakishev who invested $20 million last year. The company has raised $68 million to date.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on November 6, 2013
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