LifeAgent software: Memeo raising money to speed up production

Aliso Viejo-based software startup Memeo Inc. is close to raising a second round of venture funding worth $5 million to $10 million, according to sources familiar with the deal.

The company, which got its start in 2003, makes software that helps consumers safeguard their photos, music and other files automatically. The software backs up files as new ones are added or changed.

“Basically, we built a company to help people to manage their digital lives and give them a hassle free way for protecting their content,” said Hong Bui, founder and chief executive. “We use computers to keep track of our contacts, our correspondence, our photos and music. A lot of consumers value that content over their financial files.”

Bui declined to comment on the latest funding before the deal is closed, which is expected soon.

Memeo raised $1.3 million in an earlier round of funding.

The latest round is set to be used to hire more workers and add sellers of Memeo’s software.

“We have strong demand our product,” Bui said. “We needed to scale it faster to fulfill the demand. We are raising capital for rapid expansion.”

The privately held startup doesn’t disclose financials. Memeo became profitable in the first quarter of this year, Bui said.

Sales have grown tenfold from last year and are expected to grow at a similar rate next year, he said.

“We are growing really fast,” Bui said.

The company has about 15 workers in Aliso Viejo and a handful of others at offices in San Jose and Austin, Texas.

In October, Memeo elected Google Inc. executive Scott Petry to its board. Petry started and earlier this year sold San Carlos-based Postini Inc. to Google for $625 million.

One of Memeo’s most popular products, called iExtend, helps make the iPod an extension of a PC. The software can move, back up and synchronize data such as e-mail, notes, calendar appointments, photos, contact lists and other files between a computer and an iPod.

“The aim of the software is to keep your most recent work current in multiple locations for accessibility, and to keep your favorite content, like photos and music, in synch in multiple locations,” Bui said.

Memeo gears its software toward consumers but also has some sales to businesses.

It’s struck licensing deals with Harley-Davidson Inc. and Ford Motor Co.

The company sells its software online and in stores, including CompUSA, Office Max and Fry’s Electronics.

It also works with makers of disk drives and other storage devices that load Memeo’s software on their products.

Memeo’s software comes on drives made by Lake Forest-based Western Digital Corp., Scotts Valley-based Seagate Technology LLC, Japan’s Toshiba Corp., Fountain Valley’s D-Link Systems Inc. and Taiwan’s ZyXel Communications Corp., which has its U.S. headquarters in Anaheim.

A one-year license for Memeo’s software comes loaded on higher-end devices. Cheaper goods get a 30-day trial, Bui said.

Next on deck is marketing similar software for cell phones, smart phones and digital assistants.

The company is set to announce a few products for cell phones at the Consumer Electronics Show in January.

“We believe we cannot effectively say we protect people without including a mobile component,” he said.

Bui, a native of Vietnam, said Memeo gets a lot of buyout offers, but he’s not biting at this point.

“Right now our focus is to scale the company as fast as we can,” he said. n