Wilmaa and ZKB invest millions in Rayneer
The Zurich-based internet startup Rayneer is raising a total of two million francs in a Series A funding round from Wilmaa, Zürcher Kantonalbank, and business angels such as Andreas Widmer, CEO of Y&R, and Helmut Dietl, a professor of business administration at the University of Zurich.
Widmer, Dietl and Wilmaa founder Thomas Gabathuler serve as board members at the Zurich-based startup. "The financing round and the knowledge of our strategic investors enable us to grow rapidly both in Switzerland and internationally," said Oliver Flueckiger, CEO and co-founder of Rayneer. With a total of two million Swiss francs, Rayneer's Series A round is one of the most capitalized in Swiss Internet history, according to the statement, and once again highlights the startup's potential.
Rayneer offers free, personalized music TV based on Facebook profiles. Users download the free app to their smartphone or tablet and connect it to Facebook with one click. Rayneer's algorithms analyze the Facebook profile and recognize the user's preferences. Rayneer also runs directly in the web browser at Rayneer.tv. CEO Oliver Flueckiger: "Everyone has different interests and preferences. Conventional television, however, only lets us watch the programs that broadcasters broadcast. Rayneer goes further and automatically compiles relevant content: a personal TV program that is guaranteed to interest every user!"
The young startup Rayneer Entertailorment is operationally managed by CEO OIiver Flueckiger (Business Economist University of Zurich) and CTO Yannick Koechlin (Software Engineer University of Zurich). Rayneer won the prestigious Venture business plan competition organized by McKinsey and ETH Zurich in May 2012 and was awarded the CTI Startup Label of the Swiss Federal Commission for Technology and Innovation CTI in June 2013.
