Dealised raises AUD$5 million in Series A funding led by SingTel Innov8

Dealised an innovator in group-buying solutions, has announced S$6.5 million (A$5 million) in Series A funding to accelerate the global roll-out of its combined marketing solution and technology platform.

Led by SingTel Innov8, the SingTel Group’s corporate venture capital fund, Series A also included Yuuwa Capital LP, an Australian-based venture capital firm. Dealised is the first to offer this group-buying solution in Asia. Dealised will use its regional Asian headquarters in Singapore to drive global business expansion and develop mobile group-buying solutions.

Dealised is already working with several UK-based customers, including The Daily Telegraph, as well as leading media owners Mecom in Scandinavia and with customers in Australia/New Zealand, the Middle East and the US. Companies, including media firms, mobile operators, retailers and others, use Dealised’s technology and services platform to create and manage their own deals and develop their businesses. A new Dealised partner can have a dedicated group-buying business running within weeks, without significant upfront costs.

Dealised also announced the appointment of veteran telecommunications executive, Jonathan Marchbank as Chief Executive Officer. Mr Marchbank has worked with both mobile operators and device manufacturers in the US and Asia for the past 20 years, and immediately prior to joining Dealised, he served as Chief Operating Officer for Virgin Mobile US.

“Dealised partners in Australia and Scandinavia have already beaten Groupon and Living Social in their local markets. With our platform & services, partners quickly create and manage regular offers for their customers, maintaining revenue and relationships at risk from Groupon-like clones. We are busy repeating that successful formula in other markets,” noted Mr Marchbank.

Mrs Yvonne Kwek, CEO of SingTel Innov8 said, “Dealised’s platform and market knowledge offers publishers, media companies and telco companies the opportunity to generate better value for their customers through innovative group-buying services.”
“The most exciting trend is in mobile, especially in Asia, and we see the volume of group-buying transactions on smartphones and other mobile devices growing exponentially over the next couple of years. Our operations in Singapore, as the business hub for Asia, are where we will focus on mobile growth,” concluded Mr Marchbank.

Dealised is one of the earliest entrants into what is a very young industry. It was created in late 2009 to power Spreets, an Australian deals site, which quickly became a market leader. Spreets was acquired by Yahoo7! in Australia in 2010 for A$40 million.
Other Dealised investors include Sydney start-up incubator, Pollenizer and a select number of angel investors. These investors bring a great depth of managerial experience, with backgrounds in digital media, e-commerce and mobile. The company will use the A$5 million from this fundraising to grow its base in Asia and in Europe, and to develop mobile group-buying solutions.