telephony

News Byte

Twilio Nabs $17 Million More in Funding From Current Investors

Ina Fried in News on December 7, 2011 at 4:30 am PT

Twilio, whose technology lets developers build telephony and messaging into their apps, announced Wednesday that it has raised $17 million from Bessemer Venture Partners and Union Square Ventures — two of its existing investors. The San Francisco-based company, which has around 100 employees, plans to use the money to help fuel continued hiring and international expansion.

News Byte

Skype Rival Rebtel Hits 10 Million Users

Ina Fried in Mobile on March 9, 2011 at 9:00 pm PT

Rebtel said late on Wednesday that it has hit 10 million users for its voice-over-Internet calling service and has now connected more than 200 million calls. Rebtel, which offers free and discount calling on a number of mobile devices, also offered up some financial numbers, saying it is profitable and 2010 revenue was $40 million, up 120 percent from a year earlier. The company said it expects 2011 revenue to reach $75 million.

News Byte

Rebtel With a Cause: Free Calling on the BlackBerry

Ina Fried in Mobile on January 14, 2011 at 7:00 am PT

Mobile Internet telephony firm Rebtel said on Friday that it is bringing its free international calling service to the BlackBerry. The service, which allows free international calls among more than 50 countries by routing the calls over the Internet, has been available for Android since last March. Rebtel also said it plans to add the free calling feature to the iPhone this spring. “We are committed to bringing innovation into the oligopolistic marketplace to make international calls either free or super-cheap for our customers,” Rebtel CEO Andreas Bernstrom said in a statement. Rebtel’s app automatically notices when an international call is being made and routes the call over its VoIP service, as opposed to making a cellphone call.