German Startups Group and Ventech back TVSmiles

The fresh capital will be used to help the firm expand across Germany. A further expansion into foreign markets is also planned for 2014.

Prior to this latest transaction, German venture capital firm GSG invested in online sport equipment marketplace sporTrade in August, alongside IBB Beteiligungsgesellschaft.

Company
TVSmiles is an interactive mobile phone application that recognises the music played by advertisements on TV. The app then automatically opens up games and quizzes that are ad-related and which the user can play in order to win "smiles". Those "smiles" can be exchanged for goods from the advertising firms.

Since its launch in September 2013, corporations like Wrigley, Johnson & Johnson and Mitsubishi have joined the Berlin-based start-up's clients base. It currently reports 450,000 users, with the average user playing about 90 minutes a month. TVSmiles currently employs 25 staff.

People
Frederic Westerberg is managing director at TVSmiles. Westerberg, Gaylord Zach and Christian Heins co-founded the business. Karlheinz Brandenburg, Christian Vollmann and Martin Ott were among the business angels investing in TVSmiles.

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• Topics
• DACH
• Media
• Expansion
• Germany