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Zoove Secures $15M Series E

2013-05-14
NEW YORK, NY, Zoove has secured a strategic investment of $15 million from existing series D investors and its early stage investors.
Zoove Corp, the exclusive provider of StarStar and StarStarMe, a unique mobile phone number that connects people with the things they care about most -- great content, favorite brands, and one another -- today announced that it has secured a strategic investment of $15 Million from existing series D investors, Rogers Venture Partners and Panorama Capital, along with additional investment from the company's early stage investors, Worldview Technology Partners and Highland Capital. This new funding will allow Zoove to expand significantly through all areas of the business, with emphasis on product expansion, business development and marketing.

After securing relationships with all four major mobile carriers -- AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, and Verizon Wireless, Zoove became the first and only organization to offer unique vanity mobile numbers that allow brands to provide any content experience to consumers via a simple phone call. The company has signed significant deals with major U.S. brands including AT&T, CBS Radio, Dunkin' Donuts, Ford, Hyatt Hotels, NFL, Viacom, and many more. As mobile commerce and adoption continue to rise exponentially, more and more companies realize the indispensable need for simple and successful mobile marketing tactics. As a result, Zoove has grown rapidly across media, entertainment, retail, travel, financial services, and even non-profit organizations.

With the new funding in place, Zoove plans to continue enhancement and expansion of the StarStar platform -- including solutions for both enterprise companies and consumers. Most recently, the company announced StarStar Me, which allows individuals to obtain their own vanity phone number, such as **CHLOE or **MOVIEGUY, through all major carriers. The company will continue to roll out enhancements to the StarStar Me mobile app and experience, as well as continue to expand their enterprise marketing and sales initiatives with an emphasis on demand generation.

"We invest in companies that are innovators in fast-growing markets, and Zoove is a clear leader in mobile marketing," said Mike Lee, General Partner at Rogers Venture Partners. "Zoove has quickly attracted big name brands from many different industries, and is committed to expanding its portfolio across consumer and business brands."

"As early Series A investors in Zoove, we have been immensely pleased with the company's rapid innovation and growth to date, and we look forward to more in the future," said Mike Orsak, General Partner of Worldview Technology Partners. "We are convinced that StarStar is a game-changer for the mobile industry, and the recent adoption, new clients and consumers signed shows the industry believes this as well."

"This funding is a tremendous endorsement of our technology, growth and potential. I am extremely excited about the future for this company, the level of expertise and proprietorship behind the products and almost limitless opportunity for mobile marketing across the globe," states Joe Gillespie, CEO of Zoove Corp. "We are proud that these venture funds have chosen to invest in Zoove, enabling us to accelerate our national growth."

To learn more about the StarStar solutions, please visit www.zoove.com or simply call **STARSTAR from any mobile device.

About Zoove
Zoove Corporation is the exclusive provider of StarStar and StarStarMe, a unique mobile phone number that connects people with the things they care about most -- great content, favorite brands, and one another. Enabled across all major U.S. carriers, the StarStar platform empowers marketers to leverage media, mobile and marketing through a single platform, in order to create any offline-to-online brand experience they desire. StarStar drives millions of calls every year for the world's top brands including CBS, Dunkin' Donuts, Ford, Hyatt, NFL and Verizon Wireless. With offices in Chicago, New York and San Francisco, Zoove's solutions and mobile expertise enable marketers to deliver a more relevant on-the-go customer experience with unprecedented real-time metrics and media efficacy. To learn more, please visit www.zoove.com or simply call **STARSTAR from any mobile device.

About Highland Capital
At Highland Capital Partners, we have always been focused on one goal: to help great people build great companies. Since our inception in 1988, we have invested in over 200 seed, early and growth stage companies -- 90 of which have gone public or been acquired to date. We emphasize a team-oriented approach in providing the right mix of strategic guidance, hands-on leadership and deep industry domain expertise in helping entrepreneurs and their teams to become market-leading organizations. Visit www.hcp.com for more information.

About Panorama Capital
Panorama Capital was founded in 2005 by a team of experienced venture investors who had worked together for many years managing the venture business at JPMorgan Partners. During our tenure at JPMP, we completed 25 IPO's and successfully sold more than 20 companies to strategic buyers. Our investment philosophy is to seek out and invest in exceptional management teams building companies that can become market leaders in their categories. Whether a business is at the start-up phase or experiencing rapid growth, Panorama seeks to invest in entrepreneurs who are clearly passionate about their company and skilled at navigating the complex challenges that lay ahead. More at www.panoramacapital.com

About Rogers Ventures
Rogers Venture Partners ("RVP") was established in 2012 as a newly minted $150M venture capital fund headquartered in Palo Alto. The RVP team brings a wealth of global operating and investing experience. At RVP, every one of the partners has an operating background and, most importantly, all came from the high tech industry. As a result, our partners are deeply rooted in the operating ecosystem, allowing portfolio companies to better develop key partnerships and establish meaningful customer contracts. We look to take active roles within each portfolio company and are committed to working towards a common vision of revolutionizing the status quo. For more information, please visit http://www.rogersvp.com/

About Worldview Technology Partners
Worldview Technology Partners was founded in 1996 and is a leading venture capital firm focused on investing in and building leading U.S. technology companies. Their comprehensive business development services help their portfolio companies succeed in U.S. and international markets. The Worldview team -- now on their fourth fund -- has both the experience and the resources to invest in a broad range of information technology markets, including communications, semiconductors, Internet/digital media, wireless, enterprise infrastructure and software. For more information, please visit http://www.worldview.com/
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