NearVerse raises $1M to improve mobile network speeds

NearVerse, a mobile networking company that has also made a fun iPhone application, announced today that it has raised $1 million in seed funding.
The company actually raised the money last fall, but held off on revealing it until now. It’s also using the announcement to start laying out its bigger vision.
NearVerse said it wants to tackle a problem that should be familiar to iPhone users in San Francisco or New York — as more and more mobile devices get connected to the web, and as they try to access large media files like videos, it puts a strain on mobile networks. For users, that means reduced speed and reliability. But NearVerse said its software can improve networks using a “data carpooling” approach, so that media files download 5 to 10 times as quickly.
The Philadelphia company said it’s “in major discussions” with both content and app providers, as well as mobile network carriers. It also launched its own iPhone app, LoKast, which allows people to share media with other users nearby. And yes, judging from the demo I saw, those media files download pretty quickly.
The funding comes from Meakem Becker Venture Capital.

Tags: LoKast
Companies: Meakem Becker Venture Capital, NearVerse