Web Phone Called ooma
With its quirky version of Internet phone calls, a startup hopes to succeed in a business where others have failed
by Olga Kharif
July 19, 2007

The secret that was "ooma" is out. Over the past few years, the stealth startup had managed to raise $27 million in funding from Silicon Valley heavyweights like Draper Fisher Jurvetson and The Founders Fund—all without divulging what product or service it was developing.

And so the innovative new concept behind the hush-hush is…an Internet phone?

Ooma, whose name is meant to evoke simplicity and approachability, announced July 19 that its first product is a new device for Web-based calling. Starting this fall, ooma plans to compete head-on with the likes of Vonage (VG) and eBay's (EBAY) Skype, not to mention traditional phone and cable TV companies such as Verizon (VZ), Comcast (CMCSA), and AT&T (T).
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