Verizon led a round for the connected vehicle technology developer that also included Cisco, Orange and Yamaha Motor Company.
Veniam, a US-based developer of technology that turns vehicles into wifi hotspots, raised $22m yesterday in a series B round led by Verizon Ventures, telecommunications company Verizon’s corporate venturing unit.
Cisco Investments, Orange Digital Ventures and Yamaha Motor Ventures, the respective corporate venturing subsidiaries of networking technology provider Cisco, telecoms firm Orange, and boat and motorcycle manufacturer Yamaha Motor, also invested.
The corporates were joined by venture capital firms True Ventures and Union Square Ventures, and investment firm Cane Investments. All three participated in Veniam’s $4.9m series A round in December 2014 together with undisclosed private investors.
Veniam is working on networking technology that could eventually become the preferred platform for connected vehicles, expanding wifi coverage and collecting urban data as part of a smart cities infrastructure.
The round will support an expansion of Veniam’s platform as well as its services in cities including New York, Singapore, Barcelona and London. Veniam also intends to boost staff numbers at its Silicon Valley, Singapore and Porto offices.
Ed Ruth, a director at Verizon Ventures, said: “Citywide mesh networks of connected vehicles and other moving things are a radically new concept and we are excited to support Veniam in enabling the smart cities of the future.
“Veniam’s hardware enables uninterrupted 4G and 5G connectivity, and their cloud-based services empower both private enterprises and city services to act upon valuable security, safety and operational efficiency data to improve the quality of life for all citizens.”
Veniam’s founders include João Barros, a professor at University of Porto, Portugal, and Susana Sargento, an associate professor at University of Aveiro, Portugal.
– This article first appeared on our sister site Global Corporate Venturing.
