Aerial Technologies Raises 1.94M$ in Financing from VCs and Strategic Partners, and Recruits WiFi Industry Veteran as First Independent Board Member
Montreal, February 26, 2018 – Aerial Technologies, a Montreal-based provider of wireless motion analytics solutions, is proud to announce today that it has secured an additional 1.94M$ CAD in capital for its Seed Preferred round. This latest round is led by an undisclosed chipset manufacturer, in addition to current investors, Fonds Innovexport, Kibo Ventures, Quebecor, and Telefónica Open Future_ who are increasing their positions.
The capital will be used to further accelerate the company’s growth, both on the organizational and business fronts. “Having demonstrated that our technology works and meeting and exceeding prior funding milestones, I am very pleased our investors share our vision and are helping support our growth with additional capital and advice,” says David Grant, CEO of Aerial Technologies. Industry experts estimate the IoT industry will witness increases between 2018 and 2022 of more than 40% CAGR, with even greater growth in the IoT sensor segment. A recent study predicts IoT spending in 2018 will top $772B USD lead by manufacturing, transportation and utilities. Aerial will enable many of these devices to react to natural human motion, thereby unlocking enhanced services without the need for wearables or cognitive human interaction.
“Aerial’s strongest assets are their incredible team and a patented technology that is bringing an entirely new perspective to the residential market, leading a new breed of device-free services for the home. The market response so far has been phenomenal as we are seeing explosive growth of both enquiries and sales pipeline for its solutions,” mentions Aquilino Peña, Founding Partner, Kibo Ventures.
“At Telefónica Open Future_ innovation funds, we are continuously searching new capabilities and projects that enhance our value proposition of our connectivity business. Our participation in this new investment round endorses such approach as well as enhances our smart WiFi platform with potential new services to be delivered to our clients,” adds Gonzalo Martin Villa, Innovation Director at Telefónica.
“Aerial has the potential to enhance and augment the growing number of IoT solutions with the power of motion. Many solutions today require users to wear devices or cognitively interact with applications. With Aerial, devices use natural motion without thought. Imagine how smart your home could be if it knew when you were home and when you were away. Your home could lock the doors and set the alarm naturally, it could turn on lights and other appliances when you need them, and insure they are off or in power-saving mode when you don’t. We are currently testing these and other services such as elderly care monitoring in collaboration with our partners who will be offering such services,” says Grant.
Additionally, we are proud to announce the nomination of John Major as our first independent board member. Major founded MTSG, a strategic consulting and investment company of which he has been serving as president since 2003. He joined the board of Broadcom in 2003. Major served as chairman and lead independent director from 2008 to 2012. He left the board in April 2016 following the Avago acquisition. He also held various executive and leadership positions at Motorola Inc. for nearly two decades, the most recent of which was Senior Vice President and CTO. Major received a B.S. in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering from the University of Rochester, an M.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Illinois, an M.B.A. from Northwestern University, and a J.D. from Loyola University.
Aerial will be exhibiting at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Hall 7 stand M11 from February 26 to March 1, 2018. Our CEO, David Grant, will be presenting “Humans Making Waves: Leveraging Disturbances in the Wireless Mesh” on February 26 at 12h20 and 13h30 on the Showcase Stage in Hall 4. Visit Aerial’s website to learn more about the technology behind our solutions
About Aerial Technologies
Aerial provides ISPs and MSOs, healthcare players, security systems integrators, and smart object manufacturers with a unique cloud-based, low-cost solution that leverages existing wireless infrastructure and machine learning to give context, meaning and value to motion. Aerial’s passive and contextual solutions do not require users to interact with them, they recognize users and background. With our WiFi motion analytics SaaS, customers have access to new revenue streams with a minimum investment. Our customers also gain from accessing end-user actionable data to help them make better business decisions. We aim at becoming the wireless standard for smart motion detection through continuous innovation, passion, simplicity and inventiveness for the smart home, home care, security, healthcare and targeted media applications. Aerial’s headquarters is based in Canada; we also operate from two regional offices in the USA and in Europe. For more information about how Aerial is making IoT more human, visit www.aerial.ai.
About Fonds Innovexport
Based in Quebec City, Innovexport invests in start-up companies in the Province of Quebec having innovative products or services with strong export potential. Innovexport was created by entrepreneurs for entrepreneurs with the objective to help them grow their companies.
www.fondsinnovexport.com
About Kibo Ventures
Kibo Ventures, based in Madrid, Spain, is a VC Fund focused on early-stage investments in digital companies. Kibo Ventures invests in teams with global ambition, unique technologies and scalable business models. Kibo Ventures manages $130 million from a mix of institutional and private investors, including IEF, Telefonica, the Spanish Government (through CDTI), Mutua Madrileña (Spain’s largest insurance company), FondICO and CaixaBank. Kibo Ventures has invested in over 40 companies in Europe, the Americas and Spain, including Flywire, Carto, Job and Talent, and WorldSensing, and has co-invested with many of the largest US and European VC Funds. www.kiboventures.com
About Quebecor
Quebecor, a Canadian leader in telecommunications, entertainment, news media and culture, is one of the best-performing integrated communications companies in the industry. Driven by their determination to deliver the best possible customer experience, all of Quebecor’s subsidiaries and brands are differentiated by their high-quality, multiplatform, convergent products and services. Quebecor (TSX: QBR.A, QBR..B) is headquartered in Québec. It holds an 81.53% interest in Quebecor Media, which employs more than 10,000 people in Canada. A family business founded in 1950, Quebecor is strongly committed to the community. Every year, it actively supports more than 400 organizations working in the vital fields of culture, health, education, the environment and entrepreneurship. www.quebecor.com
About Telefónica Open Future_
Telefónica Open Future_ is Telefonica´s global platform designed to connect entrepreneurs, startups, investors and public and private partners around the world to capture innovation and business opportunities. The programme incorporates all of Telefónica Group’s open innovation, entrepreneurship and investment initiatives through over 50 spaces and different investment vehicles. To date, 800 startups have been invested. Telefónica Open Future_ is present in 16 countries www.openfuture.org/en
Media contact
Aerial Technologies
Patrice Belmonte – Marketing, Communications, PR
patrice.belmonte@aerial.ai
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