Cooliris receives funding from DOCOMO Capital, venture arm of Japan’s largest telco

Silicon Valley-based Cooliris, a company that turns digital content into interactive visual experiences, has announced today in a press release that it has received an investment from DOCOMO Capital, the venture arm of NTT DOCOMO, Japan’s largest mobile communications operator.

The terms of the deal were not disclosed. The company’s existing investors include: Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, DAG Ventures, The Westly Group, and T-Venture. 

According to Soujanya Bhumkar, Cooliris CEO, the partnership enables the company to expand its reach to Japanese and Asian customers. Eusuke Miki, president and CEO of DOCOMO Capital, said: “Cooliris is an innovative company that has profound expertise in visual communications. We are pleased to participate in the financing round as a new strategic investor.”

The company is currently working towards launching a new Cooliris app for the iPhone, iPad and AppleTV (check out their teaser). The desktop plugin version, which has 45 million downloads, enhances how images are viewed in browsers. The technology is also used in a default Android Gallery app with over a million users, and in the Discover app, which transforms Wikipedia into a magazine on the iPad.

It is also working on a revised version of LiveShare, a just-launched rich-media instant messaging app (see product feature) that now has 7,000 Facebook-connected monthly active users after two months. Their total user base is unknown.

This investment is part of a new trend where powerful telecommunications operators are diversifying beyond the traditional SMS business by investing in or acquiring digital media companies.

SingTel’s recent buyout of AdJitsu, a 3D ad display business unit of Cooliris, and mobile advertising company Amobee are more examples of this trend.