Series D Financing From Goldman, Sachs & Co., Sierra Ventures and Motorola Ventures To Fund Retail Firm's Expansion of Robotic Retail Stores Placing Brands Directly in Consumers Hands
SAN FRANCISCO – Oct. 25, 2006 – ZoomSystems announced today that it has closed a $35 million Series D equity investment from Goldman, Sachs & Co., Sierra Ventures and Motorola Ventures, the global, strategic venture capital investment arm of Motorola, Inc. (NYSE: MOT) The funds are to expand ZoomSystems' automated retail channel that places iconic brands and high demand products directly in the hands of consumers.
Due to strong insider support, Motorola Ventures was the only new investor in the financing. Existing shareholders; Goldman Sachs & Co., who led the Series C equity financing and Sierra Ventures, who led the Series A financing round, together provided approximately two thirds of the Series D equity capital. NeoCarta Ventures, who led the company's Series B round also contributed.
ZoomSystems' fully automated robotic stores are located in high-traffic areas and use technology to provide consumers simplicity, speed and easy access to popular brand products. Leading consumer product brands can sell their latest products through ZoomSystems' channel to generate incremental revenues with powerful execution of their brand strategy. Shoppers select products via an easy-to-use touch screen graphic interface, finalize purchases with a credit or debit card and receive products immediately via robotic arm. All of ZoomSystems robotic stores are networked and centrally monitored, ensuring high reliability and customer service levels.
"We are delighted to strengthen our strategic relationship with ZoomSystems through this investment and look forward to great things ahead," said Warren Holtsberg, corporate vice president, equity investments, Motorola, Inc. "Our Mobile Device business is already working with them to test a Motorola branded robotic store to distribute mobile phones and accessories."
Jeff Loomans, Partner at Sierra Ventures, said "the Sierra partners are very excited about the business opportunity with ZoomSystems and we are pleased to be joined by investors of this caliber with such extensive retail experience."
Gower Smith, ZoomSystems Founder and CEO said, "Continued growth in acceptance of our channel and recent demand from iconic brands helped us to raise the capital from trusted investors; now we can execute our expansion plan."
The board remains unchanged. ZoomSystems' executive management team, board of directors and advisors all have extensive retail backgrounds at leading brands that include Bank of America, Borders Group, Kroger, LVMH Moet Hennessey Louis Vuitton, and Starbucks.
About ZoomSystems
ZoomSystems is pioneering a new channel: automated retail that places
iconic brands and high demand products directly in the path of consumers.
These fully automated robotic stores utilize just 30-40 square feet,
carry the most popular products and are located in high consumer traffic
areas a retailing strategy that stands in clear contrast to confusing,
crowded and cluttered mega stores. Led by a dynamic team of experienced
retail executives, over the next two years ZoomSystems plans to implement
thousands of these robotic stores in high traffic locations such as airports,
hotels, malls and retail stores. www.zoomsystems.com
About Goldman Sachs
Goldman Sachs is a leading global investment banking, securities and investment
management firm that provides a wide range of services worldwide to a
substantial and diversified client base that includes corporations, financial
institutions, governments and high net worth individuals. Founded in
1869, it is one of the oldest and largest investment banking firms. The
firm is headquartered in New York and maintains offices in London, Frankfurt,
Tokyo, Hong Kong and other major financial centers around the world.
About Sierra Ventures
Sierra Ventures, founded in 1982, is a privately held venture capital
firm focused on investments across all areas of the Information Technology
sector from semiconductors to enterprise software. Sierra Ventures has
managed eight venture capital partnerships and currently has more than
$1 billion of capital under management. Some of the firm's investments
include Combinet (acquired by Cisco), StrataCom (acquired by Cisco),
ConvergeNet (acquired by Dell), Quinta (acquired by Seagate), Intuit
(INTU), OnLink (acquired by Siebel), Healtheon (merged with WebMD), AmeriGroup
(AGP), Micromuse (MUSE), Active Software (acquired by WebMethods), Centex
(acquired by WorldCom), and Interact Commerce (acquired by Sage). www.sierraventures.com
About Motorola Ventures
Motorola Ventures (MV) is the global, strategic venture capital investment
arm of Motorola, Inc. MV actively invests at all stages in developing
companies of strategic value to Motorola in order to accelerate access
to new technologies, new markets and new talent. For more information: www.motorola.com/ventures
About Motorola
Motorola is known around the world for innovation and leadership in wireless
and broadband communications. Inspired by our vision of Seamless Mobility,
the people of Motorola are committed to helping you get and stay connected
simply and seamlessly to the people, information, and entertainment that
you want and need. We do this by designing and delivering "must have" products, "must
do" experiences and powerful networks along with a full complement
of support services. A Fortune 100 company with global presence and impact,
Motorola had sales of US $35.3 billion in 2005. For more information
about our company, our people and our innovations, please visit www.motorola.com.
About NeoCarta Ventures
NeoCarta Ventures is a leading venture capital firm specializing in early
to mid-stage technology investments. The firm focuses on investments
in IT infrastructure, software, hardware, networking, media and wireless.
With offices in San Francisco and Boston, NeoCarta partners' backgrounds
include senior investment experience with outstanding track records at
GE Capital, Intel Capital, Thomson, and NBC. NeoCarta works closely with
entrepreneurs and actively adds value by providing strategic guidance,
team-building skills, industry knowledge, and operating expertise. With
NeoCarta's unique mix of financial, operational, and technical expertise,
the firm is able to add value at all stages of a company's development. www.neocarta.com