Tuesday, February 28 2006 15:42 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Mumbai: Mauj Telecom (People Infocom Pvt Ltd), India's leading wireless solutions provider announced an investment of $10 million by WestBridge Capital Partners, Intel Capital and Sequoia Capital. Mauj Telecom is India's top mobile entertainment company with focus on mobile music, gaming, mobile commerce and mobile messaging.

WestBridge Capital Partners led the investment round. Intel Capital, Intel Corporation's venture investment program focuses on making minority equity investments to grow the Internet economy in support of Intel's strategic interests. Sequoia Capital is the world's leading venture investor especially in new economy businesses and has previously invested in companies such as Google, Yahoo and Cisco. Mauj is a part of the People Group.

Anupam Mittal, CMD of People Group, said, "Today (Feb 23 2006) is a big day not just for us but also for the Mobile VAS Industry. We understand this is the largest deal in this space in India and we expect that it will trigger many more. The capital will be used to grow the business organically and through acquisitions."

Arun Gupta, CEO Mauj Telecom, added, "This is the first of many important milestones for Mauj Telecom to emerge as the largest Mobile VAS company in this part of the world. With the support of our new partners we are confident that we will execute on the strategy chalked out by us. Mauj Telecom will use the capital to expand aggressively globally in the areas of Mobile Music and Mobile Gaming."

Sandeep Singhal, Managing Director, WestBridge Capital Partners, will join the board of Mauj Telecom. Speaking on the investment, Singhal said, "Mauj Telecom has built a very strong leading position in the mobile value added services market in a very short period of time. We believe that mobile value added services are poised for rapid growth."

"Wireless is experiencing explosive growth in India. Mauj Telecom's focus on Mobile Value Added Services presents an opportunity for significant growth," said Kumar Shiralagi, Director for Intel Capital in India. "Our investment in Mauj Telecom provides Intel Capital with the opportunity to share what we have learned through our investments worldwide as we work together with them to build their business."