Press Releases
- For Immediate Release
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SEOUL, South Korea - January 14, 2009 / PRNewswireNurien Software, a leading developer and operator of social networking and online gaming services, today announced that it has closed US$10 million in Series A-1 funding from four leading U.S. and China VC firms: Northern Light Venture Capital (NLVC), Globespan Capital Partners, New Enterprise Associates (NEA), and QiMing Venture Partners. Led by NLVC, this round of funding follows the initial $15 million Series A investment announced in April 2008 (see http://corp.nurien.com/eng/company_news_pr_080422.html).
Nurien will use the funds to advance the development of its unique social networking platform and to expand its online gaming offerings. In a new category of social networking services, Nurien's platform allows users to express themselves and interact with each other like never before. Users can create one-of-a-kind 3D avatars and objects, share photos, videos and messages; and also participate in social applications created by Nurien including Mstar (music and dance game), Runway (fashion show application), and QuizStar (casual online game) all within their own 3D rooms. A beta version was released last September 30 in Korea. Full scale launches are planned for international markets in 2009.
"We've seen great responses from beta users over the past few months, longer log-in times and a perfect balance of female and male players unseen on most other platforms," said Taehoon Kim, co-founder of Nurien Software. "We're excited to be moving into 2009 with backing and support from such top-tier investors. With the funding, we'll be able to perfect our platform and bring on more content, game and customization features in the next year." Social networking and virtual worlds show no signs of slowing down, and the combination of the two may be ushering in the Web 3.0 era. According to analyst firm, In-Stat, social networking is the vital element of virtual worlds. In addition, it is predicting that the number of registered users of virtual worlds will reach more than 1 billion and that the total revenue will exceed US$3 billion by 2012, showing much promise for the 3D social networking services space, which Nurien has been at the forefront of.
"Nurien's technology is unlike anything the world has yet to experience in social networking services," said Jeffrey Lee, CFO of NLVC. "Our support along with Globespan Capital Partners, New Enterprise Associates, and QiMing Venture Partners attests Nurien's world class technology and platform service, long- term vision and focus on the global market."
"Our successful beta launch and the great response and feedback from players will fuel continued growth," said Patrick Chung, Partner at NEA. "We're pioneering something very different here. With a dedicated team, strong vision, and operational plan in place, Nurien is in a unique position to revolutionize social networking as we know it today. We're excited going into 2009."
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- About Nurien Software
Founded in 2005, Nurien Software is a leading developer and operator of next-generation social networking services and online game service platforms. Nurien Software enables users to truly express their individual identities by offering powerful user-created 3D objects and avatars that interact and network amongst each other via virtual worlds and the web. Additional information about Nurien Software can be obtained at www.nurien.com. - Nurien Software
CONTACT: Ashley Cho of Nurien Software, +82-2-3462-9500,
ashley@nurien.com; or Mary Placido of GolinHarris, +1-415-274-7902,
mplacido@golinharris.com, for Nurien Software
Web site: www.nurien.com
- About Nurien Software
