Cisco Wants Mobile, Desktop Convergence SoonR

Katie Fehrenbacher | Tuesday, January 8, 2008 | 12:00 AM PT | 5 comments

When startups refocus, they can run the risk of falling flat. In the case of two-year-old startup SoonR, it looks like the company, whose product allows you to access documents from your desktop on your cell phone, is finally doing something right. And Cisco likes what it sees. After deciding to highlight the backup and restore side of its technology, SoonR says it has closed a strategic $9.5 million Series B investment led by Cisco.

The latest Series B round brings the Campbell, Calif.-based company’s total investment to $15.5 million; previous investors Intel Capital and Clearstone Venture Partners also joined the round. In September we pointed out how SoonR had been shifting its focus away from its prosumer “cool” features — such as Skype on your cell phone — to concentrate on the more boring but lucrative, back-up-and-restore side of its product offering.

As Cisco has been building up its technology in the convergence of the desktop and mobile, the investment could offer the networking giant a small but interesting partnership. In the release, recently appointed SoonR CEO Patrick McVeigh notes that both companies are focusing on making business documents “accessible and actionable from the ‘cloud’, or the layer of network intelligence, through a myriad of Internet-connected devices.” McVeigh was formerly the CEO of PalmSource and was also one of the co-founders of wireless ISP, OmniSky.

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1 trackback so far

January 10th, 2008
11:02 AM PT

[...] trend, with companies like Avvenu (which Nokia recently agreed to acquire) and SoonR (which just closed an investment round led by Cisco) putting software on home machines that makes content available [...]

4 comments so far

January 8th, 2008
5:52 AM PT
rose said:

But the wireless bandwidth is lower than broadband.

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(link) — Mobile Transcoding of Videos and Web Pages for Mobile Phone and PDA

January 8th, 2008
6:14 AM PT
rambhai said:

wow thats facinating . the convergence of PC and cell phone had to happen they are the only required gadget in a man’s life. i like the branding of the company too “SOONR” ~~VERY COOL~~

REGARDS RAMBHAI

January 8th, 2008
7:08 AM PT
nhickmarin said:

This is great, keep it coming om!

nhick
(link)

January 8th, 2008
9:56 AM PT
Prashant said:

it remind me of EchoStar buying a stake in Sling .smart move for SoonR Cisco will buy them this year

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