Veniam, a Silicon Valley-based company that is building the Internet of Moving Things, today announced a $4.9 million Series A funding led by True Ventures, with participation from Union Square Ventures, Cane Investments and private investors. Veniam is the leading global innovator of true citywide WiFi networks of connected vehicles that expand wireless coverage and enable the Internet of Things. The Series A funding will be used to grow the company's Mountain View office and accelerate deployment of vehicular networks in U.S. cities.
'Building on the fantastic success we've had in Porto, Portugal, this funding will allow us to expand rapidly in the U.S. with significant momentum,' said João Barros, CEO and Founder of Veniam. 'The interest in our technology has been overwhelming and we feel confident that large-scale vehicular networks, enabled by our proprietary technology, will be the foundation for a faster expansion of the Internet of Things in cities and industrial environments.'
Veniam has built and deployed the largest vehicular network in the world, with more than 600 connected vehicles currently operating in Porto, Portugal. By turning vehicles into WiFi hotspots, Veniam is the first to deliver ubiquitous, reliable WiFi accessibility to citizens and wireless machines across sprawling cities. Right now in Porto 73 percent of bus riders with mobile devices - 60,000 monthly - are using Veniam's free WiFi, and across the vehicular network three terabytes of data are being transmitted monthly, collectively offloading 50 percent of traffic from cellular networks in the busiest areas. Veniam's technology is also being deployed in controlled spaces, like ports and container terminals, to deliver improved wireless coverage, increased security, two-way communication and new real-time data.
'Much has been said about the Internet of Things in the past decade, but we have seen little significant movement in the space,' said Om Malik, Partner at True Ventures. 'Veniam's technology will make it possible for cities to provide the bandwidth necessary for devices to connect to the Internet and each other.'
Leveraging the 1 billion vehicles around the globe, the company's proprietary vehicular network technology connects infrastructure, people and things to the Internet and to each other. The ability for citizens, their devices and anything with a sensor to efficiently and cost effectively connect is unprecedented and will bring to the cloud massive sets of new physical data that shed light into the inner-workings of urban settings. This new data will usher in smarter cities, connect more people to the environments through which they move, improving the quality of life and enabling myriad socioeconomic benefits that to-date have only been conceptualized in theory.
Veniam's hardware, software and cloud solutions deliver the networking fabric for the Internet of Moving Things, establishing a platform for a whole new set of apps and products that people use every day. Veniam-connected cities offer WiFi in public transport and use new large-scale data sets to address environmental concerns, respond to real-time public transportation needs, adjust waste collection routes dynamically, and support a host of yet to be imagined solutions for rising urban challenges.
About Veniam
Based in Mountain View, CA, with engineering labs in Portugal, Veniam was founded by technologists and visionaries Joao Barros, Susana Sargento, Robin Chase, founder and former CEO of Zipcar, and Roy Russell, Zipcar founding CTO. Backed by leading venture capital firms and angel investors from the San Francisco Bay Area, New York, Boston, London and Lisbon, the company has developed its technology in partnership with major academic institutions, and is currently working with some of the world's largest global innovators in the automotive, Internet and hardware sectors. For more information visit www.veniam.com
About True Ventures
Founded in 2005, True Ventures is a Silicon Valley-based venture capital firm that invests in early-stage technology startups. With four funds and approximately $900 million in capital under management, True provides seed and Series A funding to the most talented entrepreneurs in today's fastest growing markets. With a mission to make the world a better place for entrepreneurs, True encourages each founder's vision and has built resources to empower the employees, families and communities of its portfolio companies. The firm maintains a strong founder community and offers innovative educational opportunities to its portfolio, helping entrepreneurs achieve higher levels of success and impact. With more than 150 companies funded and multiple companies acquired, the current True portfolio has helped create over 3,500 jobs. To learn more about True Ventures, visit www.trueventures.com.