Yesterday night, it was announed that Facebook would be opening up a new set of APIs to build an ecosystem of applications around profiles and the user homepage. Xobni, the plugin made around Microsoft Outlook is one of the first companies to jump on board with the new set of APIs. In the sidebar of Mirosoft Outlook, Xobni will display links, pictures, status messages, contact info, and current position listed on LinkedIn.
Xobni will also show recent wall posts made of the contact’s Facebook profile and will give you the option to comment or “Like” the data listed. Xobni users won’t have to upgrade software because all the changes run from the servers. Xobni is only available on Windows machines so Mac users won’t have the benefit of the new application.
Xobni is based in San Francisco and expects to have the new application launched by around 6PM Pacific Time. Xobni has over $14 million in funding and started out as a Y-Combinator company.
Xobni is an e-mail plugin that gives Microsoft Outlook more social features and has a better search for the system. The company is exiting out of beta and has raised a second round of funding. The company raised $10.5 million in funding from Cisco ($5 million) and the BlackBerry Partner Fund ($3.2 million). All of Xobni’s previous investors also participated.
Xobni is currently developing a software update that focuses on performance and compatibility. The software will have caching and performance tweaks so that Outlook’s speed is not affected by message switching. The software update will also make the software compatible with other Microsoft products such as Dynamic CRM and Outlook Business Contact Manager.
Xobni still has yet to break even and profit. However the company plans on announcing a premium product this summer and paid online services. Xobni is a Y-Combinator company.
Xobni is a San Francisco, Calif. based startup that built a platform around Microsoft Outlook. Xobni makes it easier to find people, email, and attachments within Outlook. Bill Gates even called Xobni the next generation of social networking. Xobni has recently raised $7 million in Series B. Xobni started as a Y-Combinator company then went on to raise $4.26 million in Series A.
Xobni’s Outlook software has been downloaded over 1.5 million times. Xobni is currently doing product trials with Fortune 500 companies. Some of the companies Xobni has partnered with includes LinkedIn, Facebook, Skype, and Yahoo! Cisco’s investment in Xobni is an indication that they are becoming serious about enterprise email. In August 2008, Cisco acquired PostPath, an email and calendar company for $215 million.
Prior to the $7 million investment, Xobni raised $4.26 million in funding from Khosla Ventures, Atomico, and First Round Capital. The individuals that participated in Xobni’s first round of funding was Ariel Poler, Saar Gur, and Tom Pickney.
