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Jajah has raised $14.0M across 3 funding rounds.
Key people at Jajah.
Jajah has raised $14.0M in total across 3 funding rounds.
Jajah develops and provides Voice over IP (VoIP) communication services, enabling users to make international and long-distance calls at significantly reduced rates. Its core offering seamlessly bridges traditional telephone networks with internet-based telephony, allowing for flexible and cost-effective calling without requiring specialized hardware or software installations from the end-user. The company's platform provides a streamlined solution for connecting calls through its intelligent routing system.
The company was founded in 2005 by Austrian entrepreneurs Roman Scharf and Daniel Mattes. Their initial insight stemmed from identifying the high costs and complexities associated with international calls through traditional carriers, envisioning a more accessible and affordable global communication infrastructure leveraging emerging internet technologies. They aimed to democratize long-distance calling for a broad audience.
Jajah primarily serves both individual consumers and small to medium-sized businesses seeking efficient and economical communication alternatives. The company’s long-term vision centers on transforming the telecommunications landscape by making global communication universally affordable and convenient, consistently pushing the boundaries of internet-driven telephony to connect people worldwide seamlessly.
Key people at Jajah.
Jajah was a VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) technology company that enabled low-cost or free international and long-distance calls between traditional phones without requiring software downloads, computers, headsets, or broadband connections.[1][2] It served individual consumers seeking affordable calling options and businesses including mobile operators, carriers, and tech firms like Yahoo! for telephony infrastructure, payment processing, and customer care, solving the problem of high traditional phone rates by leveraging web-activated telephony over IP networks.[1][2][3] Jajah achieved early growth with 25 million regular users, partnerships like Yahoo! in 2008, awards such as TiE50 and Red Herring, and $33 million in funding before its $207 million acquisition by Telefónica in 2009; operations shut down in 2014.[1][2][3]
Jajah was founded in 2005 by Austrian entrepreneurs Roman Scharf and Daniel Mattes, who met through a mutual friend and identified a gap in the VoIP market dominated by Skype.[1][2] Frustrated that Skype required users to stay tethered to computers and headsets—limiting adoption among friends—Scharf and Mattes developed a service allowing calls from any phone, launching the beta Jajah Webphone in July 2005 and version 1.0 in February 2006.[1][2] Early traction included the 2007 Jajah Direct service for computer-free calls via local numbers, a pivotal 2008 Yahoo! integration exposing it to 97 million users, and headquarters in Mountain View, CA, with development in Israel.[1][2]
Jajah rode the mid-2000s VoIP revolution, disrupting telecom giants by commoditizing international calls amid rising internet penetration and broadband growth, which slashed costs for IP-based voice.[1][2] Its timing capitalized on mobile and web convergence, pre-smartphone era, when users sought seamless alternatives to expensive PSTN networks; the Yahoo! deal amplified its ecosystem influence, powering calls for millions and proving VoIP's viability for incumbents.[1][2] By open-sourcing telephony infrastructure, Jajah influenced carrier adoption of Voice 2.0, paving the way for modern UCaaS platforms and Telefónica's post-acquisition expansion, though its 2014 shutdown reflected consolidation in a maturing market.[1][3]
Post-2014 shutdown, Jajah as an independent entity has no active future, but its technology lives on within Telefónica, potentially integrated into O2 or Movistar VoIP offerings amid ongoing trends like 5G calling and WebRTC.[1] Founders Scharf and Mattes' success highlights enduring lessons in user-centric disruption, influencing today's no-app communicators like WhatsApp or Google Voice. As AI-driven voice and global roaming evolve, Jajah's legacy underscores how simplifying access propelled VoIP from niche to essential, tying back to its core mission of boundless, hardware-free communication.[1][2]
Jajah has raised $14.0M across 3 funding rounds. Most recently, it raised $5.0M Series B in March 2006.
| Date | Round | Lead Investors | Other Investors | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 1, 2006 | $5M Series B | — | Menlo Ventures, SV Angel, Michael Moritz | Announced |
| Feb 1, 2006 | $3M Series A | — | S Capital VC | Announced |
| Dec 1, 2004 | $6M Seed | — | S Capital VC | Announced |
Jajah has raised $14.0M in total across 3 funding rounds.
Jajah's investors include Menlo Ventures, SV Angel, Michael Moritz, S Capital VC.
