Dash Navigation Secures $25 Million in Series B Funding
Company Prepares for National Consumer Launch of Industry's First Internet-Connected GPS
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., Feb. 12, 2007 -- Dash Navigation™ Inc., today announced that it has secured $25 million in Series B funding, well positioning the company for the national consumer launch of its Internet-connected automotive GPS device this fall. The round was led by Crescendo Ventures with new investors Artis Capital, ZenShin Capital Partners and Gold Hill Capital as well as additional participation from existing investors Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Sequoia Capital and Skymoon Ventures. This announcement comes on the heels of the company's successful appearance at the 2007 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) last month with "Best of Show" wins from CNET and LAPTOP Magazine.
Dash also announced today that is has expanded its board of directors with the addition of two new members, Peter Gotcher and Wayne Cantwell. Gotcher, an independent investor who was previously a venture partner with Redpoint Ventures and IVP, brings to the board a wealth of experience building and managing highly successful technology companies. Previously the founder of Digidesign (now part of Avid), Gotcher currently holds board roles at Avnera, Dolby Laboratories, Line6, Zing and Pandora. Cantwell, a general partner at Crescendo Ventures, has spent the past nearly 20 years in the technology arena in technical, general management and operational roles at companies including InSilicon, Phoenix Technologies, Intel and NEC.
"Dash is in a great position to capitalize on the tremendous growth in the market for navigation devices given its strong team, market expertise and technology innovation," said Cantwell, general partner at Crescendo Ventures. "More importantly, the company is addressing the real issues missing from today's navigation systems – helping drivers get around traffic and find the places and things that they need right from their cars."
"We've built tremendous momentum over the past several months in preparation for our upcoming national launch," said Dash Navigation Chief Executive Officer Paul Lego. "In addition to securing key partnerships in mapping, traffic and local search, and winning industry awards around product innovation, we now have the funding and additional board expertise to take us to the finish line – into consumers' cars across the nation."
ABOUT DASH NAVIGATION
Dash Navigation connects people to the information that empowers them in their cars. The company is located in Mountain View, Calif. and is funded by Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Sequoia Capital, Skymoon Ventures, Crescendo Ventures, Artis Capital, ZenShin Capital Partners and Gold Hill Capital. Dash Express, the first Internet-connected GPS, was named a 2007 “Best of CES” Award Winner by CNET and LAPTOP Magazine. Dash was also recognized as an Innovations Honoree by the Consumer Electronics Association. For more information, visit Dash Navigation at www.dash.net.About Sequoia Capital
Sequoia Capital provides venture capital funding to founders of startups who want to turn business ideas into companies. As the "Entrepreneurs Behind the Entrepreneurs", Sequoia Capital's Partners have worked with innovators such as Steve Jobs of Apple Computer, Larry Ellison of Oracle, Bob Swanson of Linear Technology, Sandy Lerner and Len Bozack of Cisco Systems, Dan Warmenhoven of Network Appliance, Jerry Yang and David Filo of Yahoo!, Jen-Hsun Huang of nVIDIA, Michael Marks of Flextronics, Larry Page and Sergey Brin of Google, Chad Hurley and Steve Chen of YouTube and Dominic Orr and Keerti Melkote of Aruba Wireless Networks. To learn more about Sequoia Capital visit www.sequoiacap.com.
Contact:
Gina Aumiller Bender
650-404-2957
gbender@dash.net
Jim Goetz
SEQUOIA CAPITAL
goetz@sequoiacap.com
