OpenRegistry S.A., an independent provider of Registry Services, announced today that it has engaged in a financing round for an amount of EUR 2 million, spread over the coming year. The financing is provided by both existing and new shareholders, amongst which is Instra Corporation, a New-Zealand based registrar. Also the Luxembourgish government is contributing through its ‘Young Innovative Enterprises’ program.

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), a not-for-profit public-benefit corporation that steers the Internet, started accepting applications from organizations across the world to obtain their proper Top Level Domain or internet extension in 2012. Such an internet extension will allow these organizations to replace their .com domain names with their own top level domain as of the end of 2013.

Founded as a European company with offices in Luxembourg and Belgium, OpenRegistry has assisted future Registry Operators for the application of in total 21 new internet extensions. As such, OpenRegistry will take the responsibility for the technical operations of German, French, Portuguese and Dutch top level domains. In the United States, OpenRegistry’s platform was selected by corporations listed on the New York Stock Exchange and NASDAQ. OpenRegistry will also support a number of generic new top level domains.

OpenRegistry is currently already responsible for providing the technical operations for the top level domain of the island of Saint Martin (.sx) and for the second level domains co.de, co.nl, co.no and co.nu.

Nicolas Giraud, General Manager of OpenRegistry, commented on the announcement of this new financing round: “We are very pleased to be able to make this announcement today, as we have put a lot of work and effort into pulling this together, working together with the different parties and finding the right fits. The investment from a strategic partner like Instra shows that our business approach is appealing to leading parties within the domain name industry worldwide. We are also very enthusiastic about the recognition that OpenRegistry is receiving from the government in Luxembourg for its investment in innovation.”

Desleigh Jameson, Chief Executive Officer at Instra Corporation added: “Through this investment in OpenRegistry, Instra will be even closer involved in the further progress of this round of new gTLDs as before and we will work together with OpenRegistry to offer their services in this part of the world. Many of our customers have expressed an interest in the new gTLD program and now we can offer them our own trusted solution.”

It is remarkable that the government of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, home to OpenRegistry S.A., is also involved in this financing round. Etienne Schneider, Minister of Economy and Foreign Trade, explained: “I am very pleased to see a start-up company establishing its position in the very fascinating world of the Internet through its innovative spirit and business models that adapt to its customers’ expectations. Our “Young Innovative Enterprises” program is targeted to help these kinds of companies to accelerate their growth and achieve their ambitious objectives. I am happy that OpenRegistry has chosen Luxembourg to develop its activities and I am convinced that they will be a valuable addition to Luxembourg’s growing ICT sector”.

“For OpenRegistry, this financing round does not mean the end of a story. We will continue to look for more opportunities to team up with strategic partners in the industry to strengthen our position as an established Registry Service Provider”, concluded Nicolas Giraud.