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Lightbank Makes New Investment in myRete, Makers of WhosHere
Investment Will Allow the Mobile Proximity Networking Firm to Expand Services for WhosHere Application
SAN MATEO, CA - August 03, 2011 - myRete, the makers of WhosHere®, have closed their first outside investment led by Lightbank, the technology investment fund created by Groupon co-founders Eric Lefkofsky and Brad Keywell. The WhosHere location-based social networking application has over four million registered users and is already profitable.
"WhosHere has already created a profitable business with significant traction leveraging location, social, and mobile," said Paul Lee, Partner at Lightbank. "We're excited to be working with the team to take their business to the next level."
WhosHere is the first secure mobile social networking app on Apple's iOS that lets users meet new people and interact based on proximity. It introduces a user to others with whom they have something in common; when a user finds someone they are interested in engaging, they can easily and securely communicate via free text and image messages in addition to free VoIP calls. All this is done without disclosing any personal information unless the user chooses to provide it.
The WhosHere community of 4 million registered users has already sent over two billion free text messages, supporting 14 languages with users sending an average of 10 million messages a day.
"We are excited that Lightbank has embraced our vision" said Bryant Harris, founder & CEO. "The investment will allow us to continue to scale our business and expand the team to meet the growing demand for our service."
WhosHere runs on all Apple iOS devices: iPhone, iPod touch and iPad. It is available for free download on Apple's iTunes App Store and can be found at Apple App Store.
About myRete, Inc.:
Founded in 2008, myRete, Inc. embraces the singular focus of bringing an exceptional mobile social networking experience to the burgeoning smart phone marketplace. The company's globally prominent application, WhosHere, is a unique, location-aware social proximity networking application that allows users to find other users with similar interests and connect with them real-time. WhosHere has 4 million users in 150 countries, and supports 14 languages. myRete has offices in San Mateo, CA and Alexandria, VA.
About Lightbank:
Lightbank is an investment fund focused on early-stage technology companies. Founded by Eric Lefkofsky and Brad Keywell, who started Groupon, MediaBank, InnerWorkings (NASDAQ:INWK) and Echo Global Logistics (NASDAQ:ECHO), Lightbank invests money, time and expertise to help innovative businesses achieve dynamic growth. For more information, visit http://www.lightbank.com.
