| Website | blyk.co.uk |
| Blog | about.blyk.com/blog |
| Category | Mobile/Wireless |
| Phone | +44 (0)20 7220 6348 |
| Employees | |
| Founded | 1/06 |
| Description | Mobile Social Networking |
| Total | €70M |
| Series A, 2006 Sofinnova Ventures | €30M |
| Series B, 1/08 Goldman Sachs Industrial and Financial Investments Company | |
| Series C, 11/08 | €40M |
Blyk is a new mobile network funded by advertising, targeted at 16-24 year olds. The company, based in UK, gives users free text messages and minutes in exchange for receiving messages from brands relevant to teenagers.
Blyk has signed up advertisers including Coca-Cola, L’Oréal and Buena Vista, and will attempt to tap into the world’s second-largest ad market in Britain. Company executives promise that the ads will not be intrusive and will not interfere with the phones’ primary function.
Blyk is a mobile virtual network operator, or MVNO– while it markets service under its own brand, it uses the wireless network of Nokia Siemens Network.
Blyk was co-founded by veterans of the mobile industry– CEO Pekka Ala-Pietilä, former president of Nokia Corporation, and Antti Öhrling, Chairman and CEO of Contra Group. Significant investors include Sofinnova Partners, one of the largest European venture capital firms, and Hasso Plattner, chairman of German software maker SAP.
| Website | https://www.blyk.co.uk/join/start |
| Tags | mobile-ads |
As of November 2007, users sign up with Blyk and get a SIM card providing them with 217 free texts and 43 free minutes a month. In exchange, users agree to receive 6 brand messages (deemed relevant by Blyk). Phones supported by Blyk must be MMS-enabled. Blyk also lists cell phones and accessories for users to purchase from the site.
