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yorktown · Site Admin Joined: 16 Jun 2004 Posts: 311

Mobile Social Messenger “Qeep" receives Series A funding from Bertelsmann Digital Media Investments

Mobile Social Messenger “Qeep" receives Series A funding from Bertelsmann Digital Media Investments

Cologne, Germany, June 5th 2007: Today German mobile internet start-up Blue Lion mobile announced it has closed a multi-million euro A round with Bertelsmann Digital Media Investments (BDMI) the venture capital arm of the international media company Bertelsmann.

Led by former executives from T-Mobile and Nintendo in Germany, Blue Lion mobile developed “Qeep” (pronounced “kweep”) and launched a beta version of it in the German market end of last year. Qeep is an innovative and comprehensive mobile service that includes messaging, photo-blogging and multi-player gaming. The new funding from BDMI will provide Blue Lion mobile with resources to execute its vision of providing a revolutionary new service to mass market mobiles at low cost, increasing the base of handsets it supports and launching the Qeep service on all key European markets.

With Qeep, users can send each other low-cost text messages called "QMS" or a range of entertaining sounds. Furthermore, users can easily create their own personal profile, connect with friends, and meet friends of friends, or play multi-player games which allow users to compete against each other, live on their mobile phones. Thanks to the innovative photo-blogging feature, users can also create a photo album and give their friends access to it. As a result, they can show them recent photographs of what is happening in their lives. Qeep uses inexpensive data traffic instead of MMS or SMS for delivering its services.

Urs Cete, Principal at Bertelsmann Digital Media Investments (BDMI) said: „We invest strategically in young start-ups that develop solutions for a world of digitization. Blue Lion mobile perfectly fits into our current portfolio. We do see great potential in services covering the demands of converging markets.”

"Qeep already runs on over 70 different handsets and our user base is growing quickly. With Bertelsmann's BDMI, we are thrilled to have won an investor with a deep understanding of how to provide innovation, entertainment and value to the youth market." said Cornelius Rost, Managing Director of Blue Lion mobile.

For more information about Qeep and Blue Lion mobile, visit wwww.qeep.de and www.bluelionmobile.com .

About Blue Lion mobile
Founded in 2006, privately held Blue Lion mobile GmbH is a pioneer in the field of sophisticated interactive mobile applications. With Qeep, Blue Lion mobile has created a multi-layered mobile social networking service including messaging, photo-blogging and multi-player gaming. The company is based in Cologne, Germany.

About Bertelsmann Digital Media Investments (BDMI)
Bertelsmann Digital Media Investments, based in Luxembourg, is the Venture Capital subsidiary of the international media company Bertelsmann AG. BDMI investments focus on new trends and business models in the area of digital media. BDMI expects to support the success of portfolio companies through a close working relationship with Bertelsmann divisions (RTL Group, Random House, Gruner + Jahr, BMG, Arvato, Direct Group), enhancing their leading and innovative positioning in the media industry. BDMI is managed by an international team based in US and Germany. For further information: www.bdmifund.com.

Contact

Blue Lion mobile GmbH
Cornelius Rost, Co-founder
+49 (0) 221 55 40 53 70
cornelius.rost@bluelionmobile.com

yorktown · Site Admin Joined: 16 Jun 2004 Posts: 311

I looked up Bertelsmann a bit further on the net. Interesting article HERE on how Betlesmann plans to compete with MySpace. It was written in October 2006. They were quiet for a while and now are involved in other social media.

Marc Lesnick
Conference Organizer
Social Media Conference