955 Dreams, the next-generation mobile publishing company, raises $3.25M seed round from 500 Startups, m8 Capital, Kapor Capital, Felicis Ventures, and CrunchFund.

Mountain View, CA: January 26th, 2012 955 Dreams Inc., a next generation mobile publishing company announces the closing of a $3.25M seed round. Participating in this round are leading technology investors, including 500 Startups, m8 Capital, Kapor Capital, Felicis Ventures, and CrunchFund. This round is being led by 500 Startups and m8 Capital. 500 Startups is a Mountain View-based seed fund and startup accelerator program. m8 Capital is a London-based venture capital firm that invests in mobile technology.

Dave McClure of 500 Startups will join the company’s board. Dave has been an ardent supporter of 955 Dreams since its inception in 2010 and continues to provide guidance as the company and its products mature in the mobile ecosystem.

The company has launched three titles into the iTunes AppStore since 2010 using their proprietary publishing platform: The History of Jazz, On the Way to Woodstock and Band of the Day.

The company’s products have enjoyed tremendous success, with all 3 of its products having been picked by Apple as App of the Week. Two of these products are in the iPad and iPhone Hall of Fame and Band of the Day was selected as iPhone App of the Year Runner-Up for 2011. Band of the Day also made several year-end top ten lists, including being selected by the New York Times as one of its Best Apps of 2011.

With this funding, the company will continue to expand its product range, expand onto other mobile OSs, and expand its global footprint.

“Our publishing platform has consistently produced high quality products that resonate with users all over the world, allowing us to achieve four App of the weeks in one year. There is an absolute and unrelenting focus on maintaining a high level of quality throughout the product and ensuring that the experience for the user is not compromised in any way” says Founder and CEO Kiran Bellubbi.

“We were relentless in our design iterations for this publishing platform. We refined every speck of the experience, the UI, the backend, and the overall look of this product. Just like the calendar that Band of the Day is built around, the way band photos reveal as you run your finger over the calendar…this is the result of a thousand tiny iterative decisions. We try very hard to take nothing for granted about the end experience. We strive to delight users!” Says Co-Founder and CDO T.J. Zark.

“955 Dreams is already changing the face of mobile publishing. With its unwavering dedication to great design, the company is delivering immersive content to mobile devices in groundbreaking ways. And both consumers and critics have resoundingly approved. We are thrilled to be part of the 955 Dreams Team,” said Joseph Kim, m8 Capital’s General Partner.

Band of the Day iPad:
With this announcement the company is also launching The Band of the Day iPad version into the App Store. BoD which is built on the 955 Publishing Engine comes with beautiful magazine like layouts, a unique navigation mechanism that allows users to flip through pages in the review and bios for bands that are featured daily within the app. Band Of The Day is a revolutionary new way to discover great music directly on your iPhone, iTouch and iPad. Built from the ground up for iOS Devices, it is an exciting and simple way to find great bands from all over the world. Discover, Listen and Share new music with the ones you love. BoD is available for Free on the App Store.

BoD has added over half a million unique users in under 4 months and continues to see tremendous growth in the iOS ecosystem. With the iPad launch the company hopes millions of new users will enjoy new music and discover great new artists daily on their iPads, iPhones and iTouch’s.

Download Band of the Day for Free for your iOS Devices on www.bandofthedayapp.com