Q1 2016 VentureDeal Quarterly Venture Capital Report
Telecom - Mobile - Wireless -
Communications
Telecommunications,
Wireless, Mobile and Communications technology startups raised $1.3 billion
during Q1 2016, representing an increase of 65% vs. Q3 2015. A total of 99
companies received funding, representing a 10% drop in the number of companies
funded vs. Q3 2015.
Telecom
The Telecom sector reversed its previous
quarterly increase in funding, with no companies receiving funding - a first in
more than eight years of activity.
Telecom
Funding History - to 1st Quarter 2016
Wireless
14 Wireless technology
companies raised $234 million during the quarter, an increase of 113% in dollar
volume over the previous quarter and a slight increase in the number of
companies receiving funding.
Tarzana,
California-based FreedomPop secured the
largest round of the quarter, receiving $50 million in new investment. The
company said it would use the proceeds from the financing to expand its
coverage footprint. Investors in the round were not named.
Federated
Wireless raised $22 million in its Series A round
of equity capital from a syndicate of investment firms. The company says it
will accelerate the development of its cloud hosted data analytics and
intelligence platform that “provides access to the real-time management of
shared spectrum made possible through SAS.”
Wireless
Funding History - to 1st Quarter 2016
Mobile
The Mobile
sector reversed its previous quarterly funding decrease result, with 69
companies securing $859 million in new funding, representing a 49% increase in
funding amounts versus the previous quarter. The number of companies funded
decreased by 22%.
New York-based
mobile company Foursquare landed $45 million
from an investor syndicate led by previous investor Union Square
Ventures at a reported valuation of $250 million.
The company said that the infusion would allow it to take advantage of the
demand that it perceives to be in the marketplace for its solutions.
At the seed
stage, Boston, Massachusetts-based Flyp raised $5.8
million in capital for its application that enables users to have multiple
telephone numbers on a single mobile device. The investment syndicate members
were not disclosed, nor was how the company intends to use the funding
proceeds.
Mobile
Funding History - to 1st Quarter 2016
Communications
The
Communications sector raised $203 million between 16 companies during the
quarter, representing a dramatic increase in amounts raised and a quadrupling
in the number of companies funded versus Q3 2015.
Fuze secured $112
million in Series E equity capital from a syndicate of venture capital firm
investors. The company has developed enterprise voice over IP solutions and
says that it plans to use the funding proceeds to expand mostly outside of the
US in Europe and other regions.
New York-based Roger garnered $1 million in seed funding from Social
Capital and other undisclosed investors. The
company has developed a “voice messaging service that makes talking with family
and friends easy and fulfilling…Conversations on Roger sound better than phone
calls even when you’re on the go or driving.” Proceeds purposes from the
financing were not disclosed.
Communications
Funding History - to 1st Quarter 2016
Table
1
Venture
Capital Funding - 1st Quarter 2016
|
Industry
|
Total
Disclosed Funding
|
% Change
Vs. Prior
Quarter
|
Number of
Companies Funded
|
% Change vs. Prior Quarter
|
|
Telecom
|
$
--
|
-
%
|
-
|
-
%
|
|
Wireless
|
$234
million
|
+
113 %
|
14
|
+
8 %
|
|
Mobile
|
$859
million
|
+
49 %
|
69
|
-
22 %
|
|
Communications
|
$203
million
|
--
%
|
16
|
+
300 %
|
|
Total
|
$1.3
billion
|
+65
%
|
99
|
-
10 %
|
This
material has been prepared and issued by VentureDeal. The information
contained herein is based on current information that VentureDeal considers
reliable, but we make no representation that it is accurate in the future or
complete, and it should not be relied upon as such. It is provided with the
understanding that VentureDeal is not acting in a fiduciary capacity.