Dublin, Ireland: Cubic Telecom has secured a US$5 million investment from Qualcomm and Sierra Wireless. Added to earlier financing rounds, this brings total investments in the Irish start-up to date to $15 million. Cubic Telecom is also launching a new funding round to secure a further $15 million from investors.
Cubic Telecom is a licensed mobile network operator (MNO) that focuses on providing mobile connectivity solutions for OEMs (original equipment manufacturers), M2M (machine-to-machine) devices and some of the world’s leading retailers. Cubic provides an end-to-end solution for global connectivity and has network agreements with Tier 1 operators all over the world. The company is working with tablet and notebook manufacturers including HP, Lenovo, and Panasonic, and has recently begun to partner with M2M and automotive companies.
Cubic Telecom’s applications and technologies are embedded into the device at the manufacturing stage, enabling always-on connectivity anywhere in the world. Cubic Telecom provides smart connectivity solutions, over-the-air, across all networks, geographies and operating systems.
With this round of financing, Cubic Telecom will continue to invest in its unique software platform and global network, in addition to focusing on expanding its operations across the world to meet the demands and global footprint of its rapidly expanding customer base.
Commenting on the investment, Peggy Johnson, until last week executive vice-president, Qualcomm, said: “The internet of things (IoT), machine-to-machine (M2M), sponsored connectivity and the era of affordable pre-paid service offerings is upon us, and Cubic Telecom provides a robust, ubiquitous, cross-border platform for device and service manufacturers to launch new innovative products. The Qualcomm investment in Cubic is very much in line with our goal of developing the ecosystem necessary for these verticals to grow.”
“Cubic Telecom is a leader in providing mobile wireless services to some of Sierra Wireless’ top customers, including Lenovo, Panasonic and Tesla Motors,” said Jason Cohenour, CEO, Sierra Wireless. “Our investment will enable Cubic to accelerate the expansion of its global platform, enabling our joint customers to more rapidly adopt cellular wireless connectivity for both enterprise and IoT applications.”
Barry Napier, CEO, Cubic Telecom said: “This investment, coming from two of the world’s leading technology organisations, is a testament to the fact that we’re following the right strategy and have the right technology. An open platform providing connectivity across all networks, geographies and operating systems is at the top of all OEMs agenda. The Cubic Telecom platform delivers on this and has been tailored with direct input from our customers, investors and partners. The platform technology provides a means for our customers to establish a continuous, post-sale relationship with their customers while generating brand loyalty and more crucially, sustainable incremental revenue streams.” He went on to say: “This round of investment will enable us to continue to expand to meet current and future demands of our global customers.”
Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ: QCOM) delivers engineering, and research and development functions in 3G, 4G and next-generation wireless technologies.
Sierra Wireless (NASDAQ: SWIR) (TSX: SW) has a portfolio of 2G, 3G and 4G embedded modules and gateways, integrated with secure M2M cloud services. Its worldwide customers include OEMs, enterprises, and mobile network operators.