Mobile web technology start-up InfoGin Ltd. today announced that it has signed an agreement with Microsoft Corporation (Nasdaq: MSFT) to convert content for users of Microsoft's Mobile Live Search engine. InfoGin should initially earn several million dollars from the agreement, and revenue could rise to tens of millions of dollars.
InfoGin also announced a new financing round led by Coral Capital Management. The company did not mention the amount of the investment, but sources believe it to be about $10 million.
InfoGin CEO Eran Wyler founded the company in 2000. The company's Intelligent Mobile Platform (IMP) automatically translates websites to a mobile environment. This negates the need to develop special websites for cellular telephones. Wyler initially struggled to sell his idea to investors and companies and the company verged on bankruptcy. The turnaround came in 2004 when the market recovered and the company began to accumulate customers.
The Microsoft deal comes as Microsoft is finding itself in competition with Google Inc. (Nasdaq: GOOG), which completely dominates the mobile search market. Microsoft believes that the collaboration with InfoGin can add substantial value to users. The collaboration between the companies was arranged through Microsoft's Israeli R&D center.
The amount of the contract is based on an immediate payment of several million dollars. On the basis of InfoGin's business model, which is already used in other collaborations, the company will see long-term royalties based on the number of users. These royalties could total tens of millions of dollars in the coming years.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on September 9, 2008
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