Belgium-based Navitell just announced it has secured €2 million (or about $2,635,000) in funding from FPIM, an investment holding company operated by the federal government. Navitell develops the StoryTeller software suite, which can be used to enrich mobile phones and PDAs with multimedia content based on the respective locations and profiles of its users.
On its website, Navitell fails to explain in detail how the StoryTeller software suite works exactly, but one of the first products they’ve built with the software does sound kinda interesting. StoryTraveller basically combines GPS functionality with third-party content and software centered around telling stories based on the device’s location, which sounds great when you think about it: imagine walking around in a museum, a park or the center of a given city and getting updates on news items, historical facts, and so on that fit your profile.
Next to StoryTraveller, Navitell has introduced a couple of similar spin-off products like StoryTrip (no link found), StoryCook and StoryCoach. The company says the real killer project is still being built, and the fresh funding is meant to serve as a jumpstart for development and taking the company to other national markets.
Navitell is readying the launch of an international web-based marketplace where ‘mobile stories’ can be created and traded, and the company aims to release a set of platform applications for ‘personalized micro-entertainment and mobile micro-businesses’, which all sounds very interesting but rather vague.
Maybe they can use some of the money that was raised to hire a communications expert who can help the company explain what they’re all about.
Wow. That’s pretty impressive
I tried the GPS bikeride once, that was pretty nice.
Too much money…
Why are you posting about companies with services that noboby understands?
The services that they’re already marketing aren’t that hard to understand with the help of a couple of brain cells, but I don’t get what they’re currently building.
Here you can see the software in action. Pretty impressive actually.
http://www.yout...h?v=8EA8xlicmT8
?? That video has absolutely no connection with Navitell at all, it’s something totally different from an Australian based company http://www.mobilizy.com
The Navitell product doesn’t look anything like that.
And by that I mean Austrian company, not Australian.
what? I read the site – don’t get it at all
They do a kind of TomTom with POI (point of interest), the also provided the audio/video tour for the Brussels Atomium 50th anniversary with old videos from the time. Allegedly 200.000 Euro contract. Nice, but I doubt that this is what they get their Venture money for. But one also has to keep in mind that the public Venture Capital Fund investing in them has deep pockets (own part of brussels airport and the Belgian Post) but rather limited track record in startups. So either they have the killer application in the pocket, or they have good political connections …
That’s a great deal of money, but the program seems to be a worthwhile investment, and pretty secure since the Federal government runs it. Is this a public company, can anyone invest?