Focused on the information technology sector, the venture capital firm Draper Investment Company takes pride in providing financial capital for startup companies hard at work on developing groundbreaking and disruptive technologies. Of particular interest in recent years is VoIP, or Voice over Internet Protocol, an Internet-based method of transmitting voice and like media over online networks. Draper Investment Company proudly supports Germany-based startup C2Call GmbH, whose FriendCaller service provides an accessible way to communicate between subscribers, as well as those with landlines and mobile devices.
The Draper Investment Company portfolio has followed VoIP since near its inception, demonstrating the company’s enthusiasm for IT ventures. More simply defined, VoIP refers to communication services streamed over the Internet rather than the rapidly fading public telephone network. Draper Investment Company invested in C2Call GmbH and various other VoIP-savvy companies due to the investor’s belief that VoIP will likely one day eclipse the more traditional telephony methods.
Even users who do not recognize the term “VoIP” have likely used software that incorporates the technology. Popular instant messaging clients such as AIM and Internet-calling software Skype have become nearly ubiquitous in online communication. SMS messages, more commonly known as text messages found on mobile phones, are also distributed via VoIP. Where C2Call’s FriendCaller service distinguishes itself from those and other competitors is in its straightforwardness. Users go to FriendCaller.com, sign up for an account, and receive a unique link that others can use to call them, thereby eliminating the need for memorizing phone numbers and user names to get in touch with others.
To foster growth of C2Call’s FriendCaller service, the company raised more than $2 million in funding during the early months of 2010. Draper Investment Company participated in the funding.
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