Local mobile firms grow despite recession

Many local start-ups and small firms are sucking wind when it comes to raising money in today's tough economy, but Mobile Monday Boston notes a contrarian trend in its sector of the market.

Mobile Monday Boston bills itself as the locally-run chapter of a global community of professionals and enthusiasts interested in mobile and wireless technologies, and the chapter claims that $215 million was invested in Massachusetts mobile companies during this year's first quarter.

"This figure makes Q109 the biggest for mobile investment in the last five quarters," Mobile Monday Boston said in a press release.

In January, Nuance Communications Inc., a Burlington company that specializes in such technologies as speech recognition, sold 17.4 million shares of stock, valued at $175 million, Mobile Monday Boston said, and Quattro Wireless, a Waltham company that operates a network that enables advertisers to reach consumers on their mobile devices, raised $10 million during the quarter.

"Despite reports of widespread venture capital decline, mobile investment in Massachusetts is still on the rise,” Kate Imbach, cofounder and organizer of Mobile Monday Boston, said in a statement. "Boston is quickly establishing itself as the worldwide hub of mobile and wireless.”