A new CEO at SoonR Inc. may be the first step in the mobile startup seeking a buyer or going public. SoonR, whose technology allows users to access data and applications on PC or Mac systems from standard mobile phones, on Tuesday named Patrick McVeigh as its CEO, replacing founder Martin Frid-Nielsen, who was appointed chairman and chief product officer. Such moves typically suggest a company is ready to take its business to a different level, and McVeigh’s experience indicates just that. Prior to joining SoonR, McVeigh was the CEO of mobile handset operating systems maker PalmSource Inc., where he led the company’s 2005 sale to Acess Co. Ltd. He also was founder, chairman and CEO of wireless data services provider OmniSky Corp., where he raised over $250 million in funding, took the company public, then sold the business to Earthlink Inc. in 2001. SoonR raised $6 million in first-round funding last September, and one of its investors told The Deal newsweekly in October that the company could develop into a strong standalone company or make a good addition to the offerings of a handset maker. —David Shabelman

See Aug. 21 press release from SoonR
See Oct. 6, 2006, story in The Deal newsweekly
See Sept. 20, 2006, story in TheDeal.com

Tags: SoonR, ipo, m&a, vc, venture+capital