Award-winning social alarm clock service Budist.ru has bagged a Series Around for funding worth USD 2 mln from Leta Group. Based on a pre-money valuation of approximately USD 7 mln, the funding will be used to expand the service offering to the international market. The company essentially offers wake-up call services by anonymous volunteers that provides an alternative to the traditional alarm clock. The expansion plans will also include additional language options – English, Spanish and Chinese languages – and will involve partnerships with VoIP service providers and messaging service operators. The company has so far received funding from a group of angel investors, as well as a USD 25,000 grant from ‘Start Fellow‘, founded by Yuri Milner and Pavel Durov.
Budist.ru (budist.ru)
Budist.ru was set up in September 2011 to provide a unique wake-up service to its users. The name is coined from the word Budit, which means “wake up someone”; it is unrelated to Buddhism, the religion. The company’s user base is already 700,000 strong and is growing at a breakneck pace of 10 percent per week. Budist.ru has already won two major accolades: the Runet Prize ‘Startup of the Year’ and the first prize at the Startup Monthly in the United States.
21/08/2012
Central & Eastern Europe, Internet, E-Commerce & E-Services, Investment, Private Equity News, Russia, Services