Xurpas buys into Quick.ly, its first investment outside Asia

Philippine consumer technology company Xurpas has bought a stake in American startup Quick.ly, marking its first investment outside Asia.

Xurpas today told the Philippine Stock Exchange that it acquired 666,666 series A preferred shares of Quick.ly for US$1.50 apiece, making a total of US$999,999. The deal gives Xurpas 4.5 percent ownership of the soon-to-launch mobile search engine.

Quick.ly was founded earlier this year as a company of Idealab, a Pasadena, California-based creator and operator of technology businesses.

Mobile-first

Quick.ly is the fifth company to join Xurpas’ portfolio following the latter’s IPO in December. Xurpas earlier invested in Singapore-based game development studio Altitude Games and multiplayer games platform MatchMe, a Philippine HR-tech firm, and an Indonesian mobile content provider.

“Expansion has always been one of our company’s priorities. We will continue to do this through the acquisition of new distribution channels and world-class products,” said Xurpas CEO and president Nix Nolledo. “It is the main reason why we decided to raise money through last year’s IPO.”

Xurpas specializes in the creation and development of digital products and services for mobile users. Its portfolio includes online casual games, messaging applications, as well as mobile platform solutions such as call/SMS/data bundles, mobile airtime credit transfers, and mobile commerce.