IObox Oy was a Finnish mobile and

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operator. Formed in 1999, the

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ended up as part of Telefónica Mobile. At a sale price of $250m (€230m) in 2000, IObox represented the largest venture capital

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in Finland until the sale of

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in 2008 for $1 bn (€670m).

Growth

IObox was founded in January 1999 by Jari Ovaskainen (formerly of

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) and Henry Nilert (formerly of

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). Ovaskainen sold his car and used other assets including his life-savings to raise $120,000. A round of funding in the first month brought in €3.1m and the opening of a

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office in

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followed. In November 2000, the office in

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opened. Second round financing in December 2001 brought another €13m. In January 2000, after offices in

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and

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had opened, London become the main company headquarters. IObox acquired ''Futuron Wireless Solutions'' and with an

Oulu Oulu ( , ; ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of North Ostrobothnia. It is located on the northwestern coast of the country at the mouth of the Oulujoki, River Oulu. The population of Oulu is approximately , while the Oulu sub-regio ...

office opening in March 2000 had brought the staff count to 70 persons. At the point of sale in July 2000, the company had grown to 100 employees. This expanded further to beyond 200 employees by near the end of the same year.