Hot on the heels of their big fundraising announcement in May, mobile ebook specialist Gutenberg Technology has finalised their second round with another big investment. This time €3 million, which brings the total money they’ve closed on this year to €5 million. The additional investment which came from BNP Paribas Développement and their existing investors. This new investment will enable them to continue the rapid ramp-up of their international expansion with a particular focus on the US.
Having launched only in 2010, Gutenberg Technology is already moving fast in their goal to being a major global player in the ebook production space. With several contracts with leading publishers, including Pearson, Hachette Book Group and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, now signed they’re well-positioned to roll-out their MyEBookFactory 5.0 on a global-scale and compete head-on with other hot, well-funded startups in this space such as Inkling. They already have an office in NYC, so this latest investment will undoubtedly enable them to expand more quickly in the US (as well as other international markets).
Another key priority for them is to expand beyond their current focus on digitalization of educational / academic books. For example, they’re looking to expand the reach of their platform to new publishing sectors such a travel, art, medicine, career planning and training, and cuisine. In fact, they’ve recently entered into a partnership with Alain Ducasse which would, presumably, be one of the first building blocks in their goal to be a global leader in ecookbooks on mobile devices. In addition, enhancing their platform with new functionality and creation of a MOOC are also in the works.