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.”