GetJar CEO Ilja Laurs Explains Why They Just Raised $25 Million (TCTV)

GetJar CEO Ilja Laurs Explains Why They Just Raised $25 Million (TCTV)
GetJar, the independent, cross-platform app store provider, this morning
announced that it has raised $25 million in Series C funding from Tiger
Global Management and longtime backer Accel Partners. The round brings
the total raised to $42 million.

I caught up with founder and CEO Ilja Laurs at the Mobile World Congress
in Barcelona to talk about how his business has grown since the last
time I did a video interview with the charismatic entrepreneur, now
almost two years ago.

Since then, GetJar has managed to secure a leading position among the
top 5 mobile app store operators, playing the same field as giants like
Apple, Google, Microsoft and Nokia.

In the past year, the number of app downloads Get\jar registers per
month has quadrupled, and the company has grown along with it; they now
boasts triple the number of employees than last year.

I asked Laurs why GetJar needed the extra capital, how he evaluates the
competitive landscape in the mobile app store business and what he
thinks about the Nokia/Microsoft alliance.