Source: TechCrunch
Connectivity and connected networks are part and parcel of the way many devices and services operate today, thanks to innovations and expansions in mobile networks, on-device processing, and the cloud. But behind the scenes, there remains a lot of fragmentation: Different regions, technologies, tariffs, and devices can spell a lot of work for enterprises or service providers that want to leverage that connectivity in a cohesive manner.
A startup called Monogoto has built a platform based on software-defined connectivity to help manage that work, and now it is announcing $27 million in funding.
Underscoring the demand for its “connectivity-as-a-service” technology, this Series A round is heavy with strategic backers. Toyota Ventures (the venture arm of the huge carmaker) is leading the round, which also saw participation from new investors Samsung Next, Kickstart, Assembly Ventures, Magenta, and J-Ventures, as well as previous backers The Singtel Group, Telefónica, Team8, Alter Venture Partners, and Triventures.
Monogoto has raised a total of $38 million to date. It is not disclosing its valuation.
A number of startups have identified gaps in the market for improving how connected devices actually connect to networks, and it’s a ripe market. The fact is that we have multiple carriers around the world, and each have their own tariffs and different wireless technologies. This means when an enterprise is running a fleet of cars or drones, or a services business wants to operate across multiple geographies or networks, they have to figure out how to stitch together patchworks of coverage. (Some startups in this general area include Cubic Telecom, FloLive, Airalo, and Wirepas.)
Notably, Palo Alto-based Monogoto tackles that challenge with software that it has scaled to span 180 countries and 550 networks, including public cellular networks, private LTE or 5G networks, and satellite networks.
Itamar Kunik, the CEO who co-founded the company with Maor Efrati (CTO), worked for nine years on telecoms infrastructure projects for the Israeli military’s 8200 intelligence unit. It was there that he saw how tricky it was to get services to work consistently across networks, despite the solutions available in the market to orchestrate connections. After leaving Unit 8200, he worked at Fring, a mobile messaging app that was also trying to figure out how to work more efficiently on legacy mobile networks, and that was when he had his “a-ha” moment.
“Twilio was rising, and we were banging our heads,” he recalled. And then he had a realization: Twilio was not a telephony company; it was an API platform for developers. “’This is what we should do,’ we said, but for the next wave of need. That next wave is connectivity.”
Thus Monogoto was born.
The company today works with businesses across asset tracking, smart metering, fleet management, and telematics for vehicles, point-of-sale device providers, retail, healthcare, and micromobility. It covers not only the devices that work with network management services based on hardware like SIMs, it also works with software.
Monogoto’s end users are typical customers, carriers who want to both operate their own connected services and provision connectivity solutions on behalf of enterprises. The use cases typically involve devices like phones, vehicles, and drones, but sometimes they are a little more organic: One customer is using Monogoto’s network to help track and manage thousands of cattle — they have little trackers on their ears — roaming across plains covered by a mix of network technologies.
“Enterprises have long sought an infrastructure that can truly facilitate connectivity in the new age, and Monogoto is leading this shift with its software-defined, accessible, and affordable solution,” said Chris Thomas, co-founder and partner at Assembly Ventures, in a statement.
