HiSoft listed on NASDAQ

HiSoft Technology International Ltd, a Chinese technology-outsourcing provider, listed its shares on NASDAQ on June 30,2010. The stock rose upon opening debut by 2.5% above the initial public offering price. ePlanet Ventures first invested in HiSoft Technology Partners in July 2006 and has invested a total of $9.3m. 

The company, which offers both information technology and research and development services, is ranked as China‘s second tech resources provider by revenue, with a focus on Japanese and U.S. clients. Its top clients in 2009 were subsidiaries of General Electric, Microsoft, Nomura Research Institute Ltd and UBS AG. 

Net revenue rose 42 percent to $30.54 million in the three months that ended March 31. Net profit attributable to common shareholders surged more than 150 percent to $2.97 million. Underwriters on the offering were led by Deutsche Bank Securities, UBS Investment Bank and Citi. The shares are trading under the symbol "HSFT". 

Asad Jamal, Chairman and CEO of ePlanet Ventures said: “As the pioneer of global venture capital investing, with a strong focus on emerging markets, ePlanet is delighted to see HiSoft achieve its fundraising goals through a listing on the NASDAQ. More than ever, ePlanet is committed to early stage investing in world class technology companies such as HiSoft to help them achieve their growth aspirations.”

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OPIC Board approves $75 million investment to ePlanet Ventures

The Board of Directors of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) approved up to $75 million in financing to support the establishment of a private equity investment fund designed to invest in companies that could utilize technological innovation to achieve high growth, in response to an announcement by President Obama last year. Click here to see the full OPIC press release. 

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Trivitron Healthcare alliances with IIT Madras to set up India's first industry-academia CoE in medical technology research

With a history of bringing affordable medical technology solutions to India, Trivitron Healthcare's latest initiative is the "Trivitron Innovation Centre". A research facility aimed at developing low cost medical technology for emerging markets across the world.

Run in partnership with IIT Madras, a leading technology institute, the centre combines the engineering might of the IIT's with Trivitron's industry focus to research low cost medical technology of the future. The centre has a biomedical engineering facility where Trivitron scientists are at work on solutions that will result in affordable healthcare for all. Click here to see an article which provides further information.

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ePlanet Ventures Receives Top VC Honors at the Asia M&A Atlas Awards 2009

ePlanet Ventures (www.eplanetventures.com), a global venture capital firm based in Silicon Valley, London, Bangalore, Beijing and Seoul was selected as the Asia Venture Capital Firm of the Year 2009, recognizing the firm’s commitment to the growing economies of Asia. The award was presented in Mumbai by Global M&A Network, in a year that saw an impressive number of nominees in the field.

Chandrasekar Kandasamy, managing director and a featured panelist at the conference, accepted the award for ePlanet Ventures. "I would like to thank Global M&A for giving us this award. The credit should go to the entire ePlanet team who made us successful not only in Asia but in other parts of the world. My special thanks to our Chairman who had the vision to set up a global VC fund way back in 1999 when most other funds were either local or regional. I would also like to thank our portfolio companies and our investment banking partners who made us successful, without whom we would not have received this award."

Asad Jamal, chairman of ePlanet Ventures noted, “This award recognizes the strength of our global team and our global footprint. We are committed to advancing innovation and excellence among our portfolio companies throughout the world.”

The ASIA M&A ATLAS AWARDS, presented annually by Global M&A Network, acknowledges notable and distinct accomplishments in the mergers, acquisitions, alternative investing and related industries in the Asia Pacific region. The award honors firms that have shown excellence in their field based on a rigorous set of criteria.

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ePlanet Singularity University

Singularity University (SU) - the new academic institution with the goal of preparing the next generation of leaders to address “humanity’s grand challenges” - today announced the selection of 40 students to represent the inaugural class for the Graduate Summer Program (GSP). Singularity University narrowed the final 40 students from a pool of more than 1,200 candidate applications around the globe. The summer program begins on June 29, 2009, based at its campus on the NASA Ames Research Park.

SU also announced that leading Silicon Valley venture capital firm, ePlanet Ventures, joins SU as the newest Corporate Founder to support the institution.

Singularity University is modeled after the successful International Space University, founded at MIT in 1987, which has become one of the leading interdisciplinary, international and intercultural institutions for the study of space. The Graduate Summer Program is a nine-week graduate-level interdisciplinary curriculum designed to facilitate understanding, collaboration, and innovation across a broad range of carefully chosen scientific and technological disciplines whose developments are exponentially accelerating.

A Look at the Summer Class

Students for the inaugural summer program were chosen based on their level of expertise in individual “tracks,” demonstrated entrepreneurial and leadership skills, and their commitment to addressing and solving important issues facing our world.

“The level of interest from candidates around the world exceeded our initial expectations,” said Dr. Ray Kurzweil, co-founder of Singularity University. “We received applications from expert candidates in over 60 countries, so competition was very tough for the 40 open spots. Narrowing the field was challenging. The selected students embody the key characteristics, experience, and ‘start-up mentality’ we believe are required to address our grandest challenges today and tomorrow.”

The summer class is composed of 26 men and 14 women, ranging in age from 22 to 47 years old. The 13 nations represented are: USA, Canada, Israel, United Kingdom, Mexico, Brazil, Bolivia, India, New Zealand, Poland, Portugal, Turkey, and Russia.

Specific experience and expertise in one of the ten key fields of study, or “tracks,” was required to secure a spot in the inter-disciplinary institution. The number of student experts in each of the ten tracks are: future studies and forecasting - 5; policy, law and ethics - 7; finance and entrepreneurship - 5; networks and computing systems - 6; biotechnology and bioinformatics - 3; nanotechnology - 2; medicine, neuroscience and human enhancement - 4; AI, robotics - 3; energy and ecological systems - 2; and space and physical sciences - 3.

“It’s rare that a new university comes into existence, and we are proud of the students representing this first class,” said Dr. Peter H. Diamandis, co-founder of Singularity University. “Ray Kurzweil and I look forward to seeing what this stellar combination of students and faculty will produce throughout the course of the program. The potential is unlimited. And, we truly believe Singularity University will positively impact humanity.”

Venture Capital Support Behind SU

ePlanet Ventures joins Singularity University as the only venture capital firm at the Corporate Founder level. In addition to financial support for SU, the firm will mentor students as they develop projects and new business ideas, a partner will serve as an advisor and lecturer on the Finance and Entrepreneurship track, and sit on the Board of Trustees. Google is an existing Corporate Founder, while NASA is hosting the University facilities.

"The close alignment of our goals with SU made the partnership a natural fit," said Asad Jamal, Chairman and CEO of ePlanet Ventures. "ePlanet Ventures was founded to support innovation in technology and sciences, and has been a leader in discovering disruptive innovation and promoting cross-border migration of technological innovation, business models and entrepreneurship. We anticipate great ideas and global solutions to come from SU with the expert concentration of students, faculty, and other supporters. We're thrilled to be a part of this innovative venture from the start."

Looking Forward

Singularity University will offer 3-day “C-level” and 10-day “mid-level” executive management programs in Fall ’09. Exact program dates will be announced later in the year. Interested candidates can submit applications and request additional information at www.singularityu.org/interested.

ABOUT SINGULARITY UNIVERSITY

Singularity University (SU) is an interdisciplinary university whose mission is to assemble, educate and inspire a cadre of leaders who strive to understand and facilitate the development of exponentially advancing technologies in order to address humanity's grand challenges. With the support of a broad range of leaders in academia, business and government, SU hopes to stimulate groundbreaking, disruptive thinking and solutions aimed at solving some of the planet's most pressing challenges. SU is based at the NASA Ames campus in Silicon Valley. For more information, go to www.singularityu.org.

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ePlanet Ventures Invests in FRiENDi Mobile

ePlanet Ventures, the world’s leading global venture capital firm headquartered in Silicon Valley, California, announced an investment in FRiENDi Mobile. The round was led by ePlanet Ventures, with participation from existing shareholders. FRiENDi will use the funds to accelerate its growth and leadership position in the Middle East North Africa (MENA) region.

FRiENDi Mobile, headquartered in Dubai, is the leading Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) in the MENA region. The company has been active in the regional telecom sector for the past two years, and has established offices and joint venture companies in partnership with prominent local partners across the region.

“Raising this scale of financing from high quality global investors provides us with a solid financial foundation for further accelerating our development of MVNO operations in the region, and puts FRiENDi Mobile in a strong position to pursue future opportunities in the telecommunications sector,” said Mikkel Vinter, CEO of FRiENDi Mobile. “Our company vision is to become the leading pan regional access-network independent telecom service provider in Asia & Africa, and we expect to benefit from the experience of our new shareholders in building category-leading companies such as the IP-telephony company Skype and the leading Chinese Internet search engine Baidu.” He added, “Our strategy for entering a regional market is to partner with local companies that provide complementary skills and assets such as local contacts and distribution channels. We are very proud of the partnerships FRiENDi Mobile has established across the region today, and a number of exciting new partnerships are in the pipeline.”

The financing for FRiENDi Mobile leaves the company in a strong financial position without any debt. As a result of the financing, Asad Jamal, Chairman and CEO of ePlanet Ventures, and Ayaz ul Haque, Managing Director, will join the board of directors.

Commenting on the occasion, Asad Jamal, said, “We evaluate literally thousands of investment opportunities, but only make 5 to 7 investments annually due to our rigorous evaluation and screening process, and the decision to invest in FRiENDi mobile was based on our view that it is a company operating in the attractive mobile telecommunications markets of Asia & Africa with a strong management team and a proven business model. We are pleased with the progress FRiENDi mobile has made so far, and we see the company as very well positioned for continued development and strong growth.” “We feel that the MENA region is primed for the entry of an MVNO and in FRiENDi we are excited about backing a management team with significant operational experience,” added Ayaz ul Haque.

Click here for more information about FRiENDi »

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ePlanet Ventures Invests in Korea Bone Bank

ePlanet Ventures, the world’s leading global venture capital firm headquartered in Silicon Valley, California, has announced a Series B investment in Korea Bone Bank. Korea Bone Bank, headquartered in Seoul, Korea, is the largest and one of only two Korea Food and Drug Administration approved processor of allograft bones and connective tissues for transplant.

Korea Bone Bank is benefiting from the growth of the market that is driven by aging population prevalent in developed countries like US, Western Europe, Japan, Korea, etc. Accelerating the trend is general obesity and lack of exercise, which contribute to more bone fractures. Allograft procedures are increasingly covered by medical insurance, fueling patient demand for allograft instead of conventional metal instrument implantation. ePlanet Managing Director Jerry Cho commented, “We have been very impressed with Korea Bone Bank’s growth, and believe the company is well-positioned to take advantage of the expected global surge in demand.”

Commenting on the occasion, Asad Jamal, Chairman and CEO of ePlanet Ventures, said, “We are very excited to invest in Korea Bone Bank as we believe in the company’s growth prospects. The investment further widened the breadth of ePlanet Venture’s substantial portfolio in the Life Sciences, Healthcare and Medical Devices sector, and we intend to leverage on our expertise to help Korea Bone Bank expand internationally.”

Click here for more information about Korea Bone Bank »

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Dubai Company Plans Virtual Mobile Network in Middle East

By Scott Shuey, Chief Business Reporter

Dubai: A Dubai-based company is planning to launch a "virtual mobile network" across the Middle East in hopes of accomplishing what companies such as Virgin Mobile have done in Europe.

FRiENDi Mobile could be the region's first virtual mobile network operator (MVNO), when it launches later this year, according to CEO Mikkel Vinter.

"MVNOs typically arrive when the markets reach a certain maturity level," said Vinter, who added the company is currently working in 15 countries across the region.

The company won't disclose details of exactly when or where in the region it will launch. "For competitive reasons, we want to hold back with specific details," he said.

FRiENDi Mobile was founded in early 2006 but operated under the name of Moobility Telecom until June of last year. The company is headquartered in Dubai Internet City.

According to Asad Jamal, Chairman and CEO of ePlanet Ventures, a venture capitalist from Silicon Valley who also sits on the FRiENDi's board, the virtual operators have been very successful in US and Europe.

"In Europe for example, there is a 1 to 3 ratio of operators to MNVOs," he said, estimating that there are currently 200 MVNOs in Europe.

"In the Mena region, there isn't one MNVO, so we feel that with the liberalisation in the telecom area, the build out of the infrastructure with the wireless players now coming in to each country, the stage is now set for an MNVO to come in."

MVNOs differ from traditional telecom operators in one substantial way: they do not have their own infrastructure. Instead, virtual operators purchase time wholesale on the networks of established telecoms.

The virtual operator then sells the minutes, packaged with additional services, back to the customers. The added services usually cater to small segments of the market that the major operators usually ignore.

This strategy has worked well for some companies, such as Virgin Mobile, which launched in 1999 and operate in six countries, including the US and South Africa.

It is listed in the London Stock Exchange and saw revenues in 2006 of over £560 million. Even though the FRiENDi Mobile hasn't yet begun operations, it has drawn the attention of a number of telecommunication players.

ePlanet Ventures, a company that Jamal heads as the CEO and Chairman, was ranked as the 8th largest venture capital company in the world, according to Forbes magazine.

The company's board of directors also includes Jay Metcalfe, who was involved in the start up of Vodaphone and was a founding shareholder in Celtel, a pan African operator.

Jamal said ePlanet is very selective in choosing where in places its money, selecting only between eight and 10 companies to invest in, or about one per cent of the companies they investigate for investment purposes.

"We are looking for deals which have the potential to become market leaders," Jamal said. "What we believe in is going after disruption innovation, rather than incremental innovation. If you have bull markets, you succeed in creating a company that is invaluable, but it really it takes a structured innovation to create the future market leaders."

Disruptive innovation is technology that often forces markets to change how they handle procedures.

"It shouldn't a billion dollars to make a company successful," he said. "If the idea is powerful enough, then it should be driven by its own revenues."

ePlanet's previous successes have included Baidu, the largest search engine in China, and Skype, which provides telecom services via internet. 

However, whether FRiENDi will be able to launch in its home country is still a question. Vinter said the company is speaking with the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) about whether it will be able to launch in the UAE.

TRA did not respond to Gulf News inquiries about whether MNVO will be allowed to operate in the UAE.

A du spokesperson said via email that they had not considered working with a virtual network operator, and Ali Amiri, executive vice president of carrier wholesale for etisalat, said the company would not comment on virtual network operators until the TRA has made a decision.

Click here for more information about FRiENDi »

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ePlanet Ventures' Asad Jamal Named to Forbes Midas List of Top 100 Global VCs

ePlanet Ventures, the world's leading global venture capital firm headquartered in Silicon Valley, California, announced today that the firm's Chairman and CEO, Asad Jamal, has been named to the prestigious Forbes Midas List of the Top 100 Global Venture Capitalists. The Midas List seeks to identify individuals who deploy venture capital to build valuable, long-lasting companies, and who are recognized as market leaders in their industry segment. The results are based on extensive reporting and surveys sent to 1,000 professionals, including venture capitalists, lawyers, bankers, recruiters and limited partners. Asad Jamal was ranked number 8 out of 100 on the list for his investment in Chinese search engine Baidu, whose market value has grown more than 10-fold since its IPO in 2005. [Note: from $27 IPO price to $300 today]

Asad Jamal commented, “I am delighted that Forbes has given recognition to the outstanding work by the ePlanet Ventures team over the years, and to the firm's commitment to helping portfolio companies grow into category-dominant leaders.” 

The full list of Forbes Midas List companies can be viewed via http://www.forbes.com/lists/2008/99/biz_08midas_The-Midas- List_Rank.html

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