Seattle-based Swype, a maker of text-input technology for touchscreen mobile devices, announced today it has raised an additional $1 million led by Docomo Capital. The money is an extension of Swype’s $5.6 million Series B round led by Nokia Growth Partners and Samsung Ventures, announced in December. NTT Docomo is Japan’s leading mobile operator, and the move should help Swype continue to expand into international markets, languages, and mobile platforms. The company says its text-input technology works for 30 languages, and a Japanese version is slated for release later this year. Last week, Swype said it is now available on T-Mobile USA touchscreen devices, including a new Android phone and an upcoming Windows Mobile phone.
Author: Gregory T. Huang
Greg is a veteran journalist who has covered a wide range of science, technology, and business. As former editor in chief, he overaw daily news, features, and events across Xconomy's national network. Before joining Xconomy, he was a features editor at New Scientist magazine, where he edited and wrote articles on physics, technology, and neuroscience. Previously he was senior writer at Technology Review, where he reported on emerging technologies, R&D, and advances in computing, robotics, and applied physics. His writing has also appeared in Wired, Nature, and The Atlantic Monthly’s website. He was named a New York Times professional fellow in 2003.
Greg is the co-author of Guanxi (Simon & Schuster, 2006), about Microsoft in China and the global competition for talent and technology. Before becoming a journalist, he did research at MIT’s Artificial Intelligence Lab. He has published 20 papers in scientific journals and conferences and spoken on innovation at Adobe, Amazon, eBay, Google, HP, Microsoft, Yahoo, and other organizations. He has a Master’s and Ph.D. in electrical engineering and computer science from MIT, and a B.S. in electrical engineering from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.
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