Microsoft and 3Com today said they've invested in AvantGo, a software and product developer that enables users to Web surf from their handheld devices.
AvantGo said in a statement that it has secured a third round of investments worth $14.7 million in total from software giant Microsoft and computer networking company 3Com. In addition, San Mateo, California-based AvantGo said investment management firm Fayez Sarofim along with venture capital firms 21st Century Internet Venture Partners, H&Q Venture Associates, and Adobe Ventures were also involved.
Privately held AvantGo has recently launched AvantGo.com, a free, interactive service to deliver personalized information to handheld users with Windows CE-compatible and Palm OS devices, the company said. The new service runs on the company's flagship AvantGo Server, which is software that enables enterprises to build, deploy, and manage mobile applications on handhelds.
Today's announcement comes after start-ups like AvantGo and its competitor Proxinet demonstrated their software that translates Web content for viewing on devices from 3Com and on Windows CE devices during the DemoMobile 99 conference, as previously reported.
In April, Microsoft had said it is looking to enhance the value of its MSN service by offering its Web-based content to handhelds.
"AvantGo's software takes advantage of many high-value features available in Windows CE-based devices, including color, audio, high resolution displays, and memory capacity," a Microsoft general manager, Jonathan Roberts, said in a statement.
In the handheld market, more than 25 million individuals are forecasted to use Internet-connected handhelds in the United States by 2002, according to reports by International Data Corporation (IDC) and Forrester Research.
Based on these predictions, the handheld-related software platform market should exceed $1 billion by 2002, AvantGo said.
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