Top tech players invest €40m in Cubic Telecom
Cubic Telecom, a global Internet of Things (IoT) connectivity platform company, has announced the close of a €40m Series C investment round. The new investment, which brings the total funding to €75m, is funded by four participants including previous investors Qualcomm Incorporated and Audi Electronics Venture GmbH, a subsidiary of AUDI AG. New investors include Valid Soluciones Tecnologicas SAU and Ireland Strategic Investment Fund (ISIF).
Cubic provides mobility solutions that power connectivity for leading IoT, machine-to-machine (M2M) and connected device companies across the globe, and is paving the way for autonomous vehicle technologies and innovative LTE connectivity solutions to become mainstream. Cubic’s global tier-one network delivers best-quality, high-speed 4G LTE voice and data services in partnership with over 30 mobile operators spanning more than 180 countries. The company counts some of the world’s leading original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), technology and automotive companies as customers, including Audi, VW Group, Porsche, HP, Lenovo, Panasonic, Rakuten, Woolworths and Qualcomm Technologies, a subsidiary of Qualcomm Incorporated.
“Qualcomm and Audi have both been early investors and steadfast supporters in our vision, and their most recent investment, in partnership with new partners Valid and ISIF, will fuel our continued growth and market expansion,” said Barry Napier, Chairman and CEO of Cubic Telecom. “Without exception, our customers are committed to providing an intelligent connectivity experience to their end-users, and today’s announcement will help Cubic continue to deliver on that promise.”
“We are pleased to strengthen our partnership by participating in this latest funding round, said Dr. Peter Steiner, Managing director Audi Electronics Venture GmbH. “By utilising Cubic’s unique technology we are able to offer seamless Audi connect services to our customers in many countries all over the world – without roaming costs and volume limitation.”
The new investment will accelerate continued refinements of Cubic’s market-proven IoT platform and extend its global footprint. The company will also expand its engineering capabilities in Dublin, bringing more job creation to the company’s headquarters.
“The Automotive sector is one of the segments that has advanced the most in terms of analyzing the benefits of IoT through an eSIM solution. We are reinforcing our strategy in this market by strengthening our relationship with Cubic where we are already a strategic partner providing our eSIM and remote customization platform,” said Carlos Affonso, Global CEO of Valid.
“We are keen to support growing Irish companies which have strong competitive advantages, global ambitions and, in the case of Cubic, the potential to become a leader in providing IoT/M2M solutions for the world’s leading OEMs,” said Fergal McAleavey, Head of Private Equity with the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund. “This is an exciting investment that aligns well with ISIF’s strategy of providing long term patient capital to growing Irish companies which will generate a commercial return and support economic activity and jobs in Ireland. We are particularly pleased that, with this funding round, Cubic plans to expand its HQ in Dublin and create more jobs there.”
