• September 30, 2008

Zvents has secured a $24 million strategic investment, with AT&T and Nokia Growth Partners (the growth capital arm of Nokia) backing most of the funding. Existing investors Vantage Point Venture Partners and Red Point Ventures also participated in the financing.

The San Mateo, Calif.-based, events-focused search engine plans to use the funds to grow its ad network, which lets local businesses promote their events through searchable listings (including coupons and special offers). Zvents also plans to upgrade the tech behind its search platform.

John Gardner, managing partner at Nokia Growth Partners, explained the rationale behind the firm's investment. "We believe that the combination of next-generation mobile devices and powerful server-side search services will be a powerful channel to deliver local information to consumers," Gardner said. "Zvents has found an innovative way to connect local search to the marketing needs of local merchants, offering a compelling means of driving exciting, context-based mobile experiences."--Tameka Kee