Madison, WI, January 22, 2008 -
TrafficCast
International, Inc., the leading
provider of digital traffic data
and software for next-generation
traffic information services,
announced today that it closed
its Series A Round of funding
after raising approximately $3.5
Million in equity.
The
company had previously announced
raising $2 million in capital
but the Board of Directors
extended the round to
accommodate additional investor
interest and to facilitate
growth in a rapidly expanding
market for mobile and
interactive travel information.
Chicago-based
Ceres Venture Fund, LP, led the
extension.
They were joined by NEW
Capital Fund LP of Appleton,
Phenomenelle Angels Fund I, LP
of Madison, and Women Angels, of
Milwaukee and Florida.
As
previously announced, the funds
are primarily earmarked for
marketing expansion and ongoing
technology development.
TrafficCast International had
previously secured a $1 Million
line of credit from SVB Silicon
Valley Bank.
The company has
additional debt facilities in
place with the State of
Wisconsin Department of
Commerce.
Personal
navigation devices continued to
be among the hottest consumer
technologies in the recent
holiday season.
Along with the rapid
growth of mobile devices enabled
by GPS location tracking
functions, the company believes
the stage is set for rapid
growth. It
anticipates attracting
additional institutional funding
in a Series B round later this
year.
With
the close of Series A Round
Funding, the company has also
announced that Sona Wang,
Managing Director of the Ceres
Venture Fund, will join the
TrafficCast Board of Directors.
She becomes the Board¡¯s
third independent board member,
joining Paul Schneider, Director
of Schneider National ¨C one of
the world¡¯s largest providers
of fleet, transportation and
logistics services, and Terry
Kelly, CEO and Founder of
Weather Central and MyWeather,
Inc. ¨C a leading provider of
Weather data and presentation
graphics to media.
¡°The
market for traffic information
is entering a period of
explosive growth in line with
the rapidly increasing demand
for location-based services, ¡°
said Ms. Wang.
TrafficCast has
exceptionally valuable IP,
patents and meaningful strategic
alliances in place to take
advantage of the emerging
opportunities, and is well
positioned for both the market
and the Ceres Fund¡¯s
investment portfolio.¡±
¡°I
know firsthand how significant
accurate traffic information is
to fleet and logistics
management,¡± commented Mr.
Schneider. ¡°With these new
funds, and Sona¡¯s expert
guidance, TrafficCast will
become the industry¡¯s
predictive traffic information
and technology leader.¡±
¡°In
survey after survey, media
consumers consistently rank
accurate weather and traffic
information among their most
valued information,¡± said Mr.
Kelly.
¡°Traffic and Weather
are key ratings and circulation
drivers and TrafficCast
technology can uniquely
integrate the two in forecasts
of immense benefit to consumers,
and power the next generation of
such content.¡±
¡°With
the close of this Series A Round
and our lines of credit,
TrafficCast International has a
strong foundation to expand our
technology and services to
provide predictive information
to travelers,¡± said Connie Li,
co-founder and CEO.
¡°We are pleased to have
found investors who share our
vision, and Board Members whose
expertise will add considerable
value to our team.¡±
About
TrafficCast.
TrafficCast International, Inc.
is the leading provider of
digital traffic data, with
patented software and predictive
models to produce route-specific
real-time traffic information
and travel time forecasts for
traditional and emerging traffic
information markets.
Privately-held, TrafficCast
International is a subsidiary of
TrafficCast Inc, and is backed
by angel and venture capital
investors. Growing revenues
derive from distribution
channels ranging from portals to
fleet logistics to media and the
public sector.
The company is based in
Madison, Wisconsin and has a
branch office in Shanghai,
China. For more information, see
www.trafficcast.com
###
ã2008 TrafficCast International, Inc. All rights reserved.
Contacts:
TrafficCast International
Nick Kiernan
n.kiernan@trafficcast.com
608-268-3927
This
press release may
include
"forward-looking
statements"
within the meaning of
the safe harbor
provisions of the
United States Private
Securities Litigation
Reform Act of 1995.
Forward-looking
statements in this
press release include
expectations about
product development
and services
provision. Actual
results may differ
materially from those
contained in the
forward-looking
statements in this
press release.
TrafficCast
International
undertakes no
obligation and does
not intend to update
such forward-looking
statements to reflect
events or
circumstances
occurring after this
press release. Undue
reliance should not be
placed on these
forward-looking
statements, which
speak only as of the
date of this press
release. All
forward-looking
statements are
qualified in their
entirety by this
cautionary statement.
TrafficCast
International and the
TrafficCast logo are
registered trademarks
of TrafficCast
International, Inc.
All other names or
marks are the property
of their respective
owners.
