SaveSmart Completes $14 Million Financing Round

Mountain View, CA-based SaveSmart Inc., a provider of interactive personal promotions, said it raised approximately $14 million in a new financing round.

Investors include Cendant Corp. (formerly CUC), DataCard Corp., Draper International, Intel Corp., Microsoft Corp., and SOFTBANK Technology Ventures. Since 1996, the company has raised over $23 million, including earlier investments from Hewlett Packard/Verifone, SOFTBANK and DataCard.

SaveSmart said it has developed the business and technology infrastructure for a new interactive personal promotions category, part of the $135 billion promotions market. Personal promotions are enabled by both the interactivity and mass acceptance of the Internet, the company said.

“Personal promotions have distinct advantages over traditional direct marketing mechanisms such as advertising or direct mail. It is highly customizable and is available online and upon user request. SaveSmart matches purchasers and vendors, linking traditional retail establishments with existing and potential customers,” said Ashok Narasimhan, SaveSmart chairman and CEO.

Merchants will pay a small fee for each SaveSmart-generated transaction.