Sanoodi, which styles itself as an Internet and mobile social network for people on the go, has closed an initial seed funding round of $700,000 (350,000) from a number of private investors in the UK, the US and Switzerland. Sanoodi will use the initial investment to launch its mobile phone GPS platform and to expand its business development activities.
Sanoodi is designed for people who enjoy an active lifestyle,, from walkers to triathletes. It currentlyoffers its users an easy-to-use website that allows them to enter their favourite routes, attach photos with other information from their routes and share this among like-minded people anywhere in the world.
Usage patterns for Sanoodis early pre-launch site show that users come back frequently, and that over 50% of the users are from North America. Sanoodi plans to integrate its present Web 2.0 solution with GPS-enabled mobile phones, such as the new Nokia N95, to enable its users to share their experiences with others by using their mobile devices in new ways and on the move.
Our focus is enabling users to share their total experiences of their active lifestyles with others who share these same interests, anywhere in the world”, said Sanoodi, CTO Rhys Jones.
The company has also appointed Rhys Davies to the Board as Chairman. Davies is an experienced media investor and serves as a Non-executive Director of two publicly-traded media companies, Tinopolis PLC and The Local Radio Company PLC.
He says:
As an ambitious company, this investment will enable us to extend our offering to take advantage of the arrival of GPS technology in a growing number of mobile phones and other devices, and to accelerate our business development activities in new markets.