Global mobile payments company Boku has secured $35 million from New Enterprise Associates (NEA), Telefónica Digital, Andreessen Horowitz, Benchmark Capital, DAG Ventures, Index Ventures and Khosla Ventures. The funding will be used to acquire additional staff and grow its infrastructure as part of Boku’s ongoing expansion strategy.
This brings the total Boku has raised to $75 million since it was formed in 2008. The company operates in 67 countries and partners with 250 mobile network operators.
“Payments are going mobile and we want to be at the forefront of this trend,” said Matthew Key, chairman & CEO, Telefónica Digital. “Boku has quickly established itself as a true innovator in the mobile commerce space and this investment gives us access to their tools, infrastructure and know how, ideally complementing our own mobile payments expertise.”
He added that Telefónica Digital also is embarking on a global partnership with Boku to enhance operator billing capabilities and improve mobile wallet services.
Tracy Isacke, who runs the Venture Capital arm of Telefónica Digital and is based in Mountain View, Calif., led the investment in Boku.Telefónica Digital, a global business division of Telefónica, is headquartered in London with regional centres in Silicon Valley, Sao Paolo, Spain and Tel Aviv. Jajah, Terra, Tuenti, Media Networks Latin America, giffgaff and 48 are all part of the Telefónica Digital group of companies.
“Payments is an industry that requires scale, and in the three years since Boku launched we’ve grown rapidly to partner with more than 250 mobile network operators, processing transactions in 67 countries around the world,” said Mark Britto, CEO of Boku. “We see this investment as a clear vote of confidence from our new partners at NEA and Telefónica.”
Based in San Francisco with offices in Europe and Asia, Boku reaches nearly 4 billion consumers across 66 different countries.
Related links:
Press release – http://tinyurl.com/8xheh3n
Introducing BOKU Accounts. Smarter phone, smarter payments. from BOKU on Vimeo.
