SunRocket, one of the nation’s fastest-growing
Internet phone service providers, announced last week that it
has secured $25 million in its second round of institutional financing.
Mayfield Fund led the round, joined by DCM – Doll Capital Management
and existing investors BlueRun Ventures and Anthem Capital Management.
To date, SunRocket has raised $34 million in venture financing.
“SunRocket has the perfect combination
of talent and technology to capitalize on the enormous growth
and disruptive power of Internet-enabled communications,” said
Janice Roberts, Mayfield Fund managing director, who joins the
SunRocket board of directors. “We are investing in a unique team
with a proven track record of creating breakout brands embraced
by millions of consumers.”
“SunRocket is poised to explode as a
household name in a category that is transforming consumer telecom,
and we couldn’t be more enthusiastic about the opportunity,” said
Dixon Doll, co-founder and managing general partner of DCM, who
was also appointed to SunRocket’s board of directors.
Less than a year after its introduction,
SunRocket has emerged as the second fastest growing independent
provider of residential Internet phone service, which allows consumers
to replace traditional phone lines by sending calls through their
home broadband connection. Harnessing breakthrough VoIP technologies,
SunRocket’s highly-scaleable network and infrastructure enable
the company to offer exceptional value and innovative features,
now available to over two-thirds of U.S. broadband households.
“SunRocket is thriving in the face of
larger, established competitors, a testament to the market potential
for Internet phone service as well as SunRocket’s business model,
outstanding leadership team and success to date,” said Kevin Bennis,
president and CEO of SunRocket. “This funding allows SunRocket
to expand service coverage, accelerate sales activity, ramp up
support in all areas to meet future growth and introduce new innovations
into the market.”
This round of financing includes a trio
of prestigious Silicon Valley venture firms with proven track
records for building technology leaders, each with $1 billion
or more under management and based in Menlo Park, California.
Since 1969, Mayfield Fund has invested over $2.3 billion in more
than 460 high-growth technology companies, and taken over 100
public. BlueRun Ventures, who led SunRocket’s initial funding
round and remains the leading investor, invests in best of breed
teams with the drive and ability to build leading global companies.
DCM is a top-performing venture capital firm with over $1 billion
under management supporting entrepreneurs building early-stage
technology companies around the globe. Joining the Silicon Valley
trio is first-round investor Anthem Capital Management, a Baltimore-based
fund with over $100 million under management that invests in early-stage
technology companies in the Mid-Atlantic region.
“We are thrilled to have top-tier investors
that will help SunRocket reshape the consumer communications landscape,”
said Paul Erickson, SunRocket chairman and co-founder. “We set
out to capitalize on the Internet to build a better phone company,
taking a fresh approach to deliver to customers an honest and
compelling value in a complete and easy package, and SunRocket’s
momentum shows we’ve found a combination that resonates with consumers
and investors alike.”