Estimated Value: $175 million
Business: Sends information (stock quotes, sports scores, entertainment news, etc.) via text message. Also operates a directory that you can text-message to request information.
Location: San Mateo, CA
More Info: About 4Info
CEO: Zaw Thet
Investors: U.S. Venture Partners, Draper Fisher Jurvetson, Gannett Company, Peacock Equity, Sand Hill Capital
Analysis: Four year old ad-supported company with 10 million monthly users, sends about 100 million text messages a month. The company has a helpful investor in Gannett, who runs 4Info ad tie-ins in USA Today.
The concern? 4INFO is a text message business in what is becoming a smartphone world. The company thinks SMS will live on (it will), and says it is prepared for that switch, but the transition is a wild card.
4INFO has been rumored to charge $50 per thousand messages sent, but our sources suggest 2008 revenue will be about $10 million. ($50 per thousand would put the company's monthly revenues at about $5 million, or $60 million a year). 4INFO has 60 employees. A spokesperson says the company will be profitable in 6 months.
We estimate that 4INFO is worth about $175 million.