Earlier this month we announced VOIP startup Jajah had accepted $20 million in series C investment from Intel Capital. Tonight, Jajah has announced that they’ve added a co-lead to the round: Deutsche Telekom (T-mobile).
The initial news of the investment was rushed out by Intel with Deutsche Telekom holding off announcement of their investment until today. Deutsche Telekom’s investment in Jajah marks the first investment of a telco in one of the VoIP startups. Jajah expects to use the money in an upcoming marketing push and to further their business development efforts.
Aside from the financial support, the announcement marks a second key relationship. Jajah’s relationship with Deutsche Telekom is expected to come with some advantages, including increased reach into Asia and Latin America and lower calling rates based on DT’s status as a first tier provider (particularly Germany). Jajah had earlier stated their deal with Intel would provide JAJAH access to their community of product dealers, OEM customers and developers, as well as access to Intel’s range of VOIP patents.
CEO Trevor Healy says Jajah was an attractive investment for DT because their VoIP service doesn’t require customers to abandon the existing PSTN phone networks that telcos run. Although Jajah announced 2 million users in March, but Healy expects the company to reach 5 million by years end. Currently 40% of Jajah calls originate within the US, with 60% originating internationally.