Funding Will Help Drive Telepresence Market Leadership Through Expanded Global Sales, Marketing, Operations
NEW YORK, Feb. 6 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- Teliris, the leading provider of telepresence solutions, today announced that it has received a $40 million majority equity investment led by Fidelity Ventures and co-lead Columbia Capital.
Additionally, Teliris announced that Fidelity Ventures partner, Anne Mitchell, and Columbia Capital partner, John Siegel, have joined Teliris co-founder and CEO, Marc Trachtenberg, on the Teliris Board of Directors.
Teliris’ VirtuaLive(TM) telepresence solution provides the most natural and intimate virtual meeting environment available on the market. Its flexibility, reliability and cost effectiveness meet the demanding needs of a large, diverse customer base. Teliris will use the additional funding to capitalize on its market leadership, accelerating the company’s visibility and business opportunity via global expansion of its sales and marketing capabilities and InfiNet(TM) network -- all while maintaining its industry-leading managed service.
"With six years of experience and a fourth generation solution now in the marketplace, Teliris has helped more businesses reduce costs, increase productivity and address business continuity challenges than any other telepresence provider," said Trachtenberg.
"This investment by Fidelity Ventures and Columbia Capital validates our unparalleled leadership at a time when major vendors like Cisco, HP and Polycom are entering the market," said Martyn Lewis, Teliris EU Chairman.
"Teliris has done an excellent job of building a pre-eminent position in the telepresence market," said Mitchell. "With deployments in 18 countries, the company has the largest installed base of global Fortune 500 companies and the deepest experience in serving businesses in the pharmaceutical, financial, media, exchange, product, consulting and manufacturing industries."
"We have seen tremendous interest in the telepresence sector from both the enterprise market and several potential distribution channels. We believe Teliris has the unique mix of technology leadership and a service-focused delivery model to drive widespread adoption," said Siegel. "In our opinion, Teliris’ scalable and reliable managed service offering addresses a large market need and positions the company for long-term success."
About Teliris:
Founded in 2001, Teliris develops, implements and manages the world’s most widely deployed telepresence systems, realistically replicating the human dynamics of a live meeting. Teliris has deployments in 18 countries with the largest installed base of Fortune 500 companies, including Pearson plc, GlaxoSmithKline and Vodafone, among others. Headquartered in New York and London, the company combines a fully managed service with end-to-end integration that offers businesses a 24/7 multipoint capability with a 99%+ availability guarantee, ensuring they can respond and collaborate as needed. For further information regarding Teliris, visit the company’s web site at http://www.teliris.com or email Teliris at info@teliris.com .
About Fidelity Ventures:
Fidelity Ventures invests in technology companies at the "Go-To-Market" stage. Its 40-year track record includes hundreds of successful investments in the consumer, communications, systems and software markets. Fidelity Ventures is distinguished by the ability to accelerate market adoption for its portfolio companies’ offerings, and by a global network of senior technology and business executives. Fidelity Ventures actively manages over $800 million from offices in Boston and London. Sister fund Fidelity Asia Ventures manages over $220 million from Shanghai and Hong Kong. For more information, visit http://www.fidelityventures.com .
About Columbia Capital:
Columbia Capital is a venture firm specializing in communications, media and information technology investments. The firm has experienced investment team with diverse industry backgrounds in entrepreneurial ventures, management, finance, regulation and engineering. The team has managed investments in approximately 100 companies in the communications, media and information technology sectors, ranging from small, early-stage investments to multibillion-dollar public companies. The most recent fund of $560 million closed in 2006 and brings total dollars under management to over $2.0 billion.
