Three months ago, a group of former top Microsoft executives started a venture capital firm to foster what they believed to be "the next big thing" - wireless technology. Now, that firm, Ignition, has put its money where its mouth is, by announcing Monday that it has taken a $13 million stake in an e-mail management product for cellphone users.
The funds go to etrieve, a Portland, Oregon start-up that is releasing its flagship M3 -mobile message management - service that lets users of wireless phones access, listen to and respond to their e-mail.
Taking a stake in etrieve is the first of as many as 20 investments Ignition plans to make over the next 3 years with the $140 million they have raised among themselves and through contributions from Softbank and Madrona Venture Group, said Jonathan Roberts, Ignition marketing director and a former 13-year veteran of Microsoft.
Ignition founders include Microsoft alumni who participated in some of the software giant's most successful initiatives. They include:
The group also includes former executives from Nextlink Communications and from Cellular One.
"Ignition is like a Microsoft graduate fellowship program for alumni making new investments," said Gerry Purdy, an analyst with Mobile Insights.
The investment firm will focus exclusively on wireless ventures, Roberts said. "We've had the chance to change the world a couple of times with the PC. Products like Microsoft Word and NT changed the way people lived," he added.
"We all felt the same way," Roberts explained. "We asked, 'What is the next big thing?' The trend is clear - wireless is an emerging enabling technology like the Internet."
Etrieve's M3 service uses its Wireless Interchange Engine, a software set that manages database, message store and text-to-voice technology.
M3's ability to let users listen to their e-mail and to respond with a voice message from a mobile device is an interesting new development in mobile wireless communications functionality, analysts said.
"This is a very useful service, a way to tap into enterprise e-mail from your cellphone without having to read it on a tiny screen," said Eddie Holt, an analyst with Current Analysis.
M3 is available for a free 30-day trial at www.etrieve.com/. The service works with any phone and is immediately available for users of Microsoft Exchange or Outlook e-mail or with Post Office Protocol 3-accessible accounts such as Mindspring Enterprises, Yahoo, CompuServe Interactive Services and others. Prices range from $19.95 per month to $49.95 per month.
Ignition, in Bellevue, Wash., can be reached at 800-694-4460, or at www.ignitioncorp.com/. Etrieve, in Portland, Ore., is at www.etrieve.com/.
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