SoftBank's VC arm to help Kony expand in Asia
The VC arm of Japan’s SoftBank Corp. has led a $50 million round of funding for US-based Kony with a view to helping the enterprise mobility company expand in Asia.
The round also included existing investors Insight Venture Partners, Telstra Ventures and Georgian Partners, as well as new participants Delta-V and Hamilton Lane.
Founded by Raj Koneru in 2007, Kony is a cloud-based mobile app development platform, with more than 600 live multi-channel apps serving over 20 million users in 45 countries. The company provides an integrated software development lifecycle intended to help companies reach customers faster and at lower cost.
According to Reuters, Kony generates annual revenues of nearly $100 million and is on course for an IPO.
"SoftBank's portfolio of companies and position as a global leader in wireless technology give us a very clear view to the power and potential for enterprise mobility. We believe Kony is uniquely positioned to seize a leadership position in this nascent, but rapidly growing market and can build a business of substantial size and importance," said Steve Murray, partner at SoftBank Capital, in a statement.
Enterprise mobility is expected to transform the way many companies do business. Gartner has predicted that by 2017, 25% of all market leaders will lose their leadership position to companies founded after 2000 due to their relative leveraging of digital technologies.
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