"Visto Corporation raised $51 million in financing, which the company plans to leverage to increase its subscriber base. Along with the funding news, Visto announced the appointment of America Online's former chief to its board.
In addition to using the funds to increase its subscriber numbers, Visto also plans to leverage the influx of financing to fuel global expansion, as well as support the sustained development of mobile technology, the company said in a prepared statement."
Notes: File this under high risk no return. Visto started its life in August of 1996 before the internet bubble. Ten years later, the company has burned through over $220M+ over ten rounds of financing - a recap round was done in Sept 01. Remaining VC investors that have skin in the game (and might actually make some kind of return) include Oak, Rustic Canyon, Blueprint, DFJ, DFJ ePlanet (Growth), Meritech, and GKM. Don't hold your breath on any type of mega return however, as the market for email wireless push email is dominated by Good, Rim, MSFT, and to some extent Seven. Visto holds key patents which they may use to hold MSFT, RIMM (remember NTP), and others hostage down the road. The patents are around software for accessing e-mail from phones and other wireless devices. Operationally, Visto has has more than tripled its subscriber base and announced almost a dozen new mobile operator customers across North America, Europe and Asia over the past year.
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