C2Call, the free browser-based Internet phone solution, has just raised an additional $2 million in Series A funding from Draper Investment Company, High-Tech Gründerfonds and Mr. Klaus Wecken, co-founder of KHK Software AG, for international expansion of their their VoIP offering, FriendCaller as well as their mobile apps.
The big difference compared to Skype or Jajah is that you don’t have to install a local VoIP client or use a phone, but can make calls directly from the web, through a light Java and JavaFX applet. Avoiding the hassle of installation, C2Call expects to reach higher adoption globally.
The JavaFX version can be installed through drag-and-drop. The experience is more seamless, user friendly and light. C2Call runs the peer-to-peer free phone service on the FriendCaller website, but the solution can also integrate into most other web communication channels. There’s no installation, no OS barriers, no requirements, no registration and username exchange. It’s a clear bet on simplicity and a push for viral growth.
Users can generate a unique link and post it into an email, IM, website, blog, Twitter post, Facebook update, or any other social network site which activates a phone call through the browser. In fact, they boast 900,000 users (mainly US based) with 15,000 daily sign-ups and 15th place in iTunes for social networking apps.
Naturally, the company also offers an iPhone and Android app and are working on a white label to license to VoIP providers.
It’s a hot market. There are countless other web-based solutions out there, Tokbox, Ribbit etc. These are mainly flash clients, which present a number of problems and are not available for iPhone for instance. Others, take Jangl for instance, but Jangl takes a different route, where you can create a button users can use to ring you up on a local number Jangl will generate for them, then you can manage who calls you, who goes to voicemail, etc.
C2Call, founded by Martin Feuerhahn, received their first angel round of $250,000 from Michael Brehm, former executive director of StudiVZ and Tapesh Sinha, Founder of Acctel Group, as well as High-Tech Gründerfonds, who follow-up in this Series A. Not bad at all, considering C2Call has already generated $2 million in revenues on the well known model, VoIP phone calls to landlines and mobile networks.