Mediagate Ltd., an Israeli universal messaging company, is currently completing a $20 million financing round. The company value for the round is not known. The company raised $5 million in its previous round, at a value of $35 million, after money.
Mediagate, which has a presentation at this week's Supercom 2000 communications exhibition in Atlanta in the US, develops and markets an Internet unified messaging system (IUMS). The system enables organizations, such as Internet providers, to provide universal Internet mail services, including services such as e-mail, voice messages, video, and fax.
The company has already sold its product, called iPost Universal Messaging, to one British customer, two US customers, one Korean customer, and to Internet Gold in Israel, which offers the service to its customers. "Globes" has learned that NetVision is also examining the product, together with a competitive product, with a view to buying one of them.
Mediagate chairman Doron Herzlich said that the main difference between Mediagate's iPost and the products of its competitors, such as Comverse and CTI2, is that using the competitors' products requires the use of two e-mail software programs - that of the company and the employee's regular e-mail, usually Outlook Express.
The Mediagate product works with only one e-mail program, since it enables the individual e-mail program to be upgraded as part of universal messaging.
Mediagate was founded in 1996 by Doron Herzlich and vice-president for R&D Eatamar Drori. Ownership is currently divided between Elron (27%), Clal Electronics Industries (8%), Vectory Investment Co. of Europe Israel (7%), US investors (5%). The founders hold 11% each, with additional holdings by employees.
Published by Israel's Business Arena on June 6, 2000