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Cubic Telecom completes new €18 million funding round

Dublin-based Cubic Telecom has completed a new funding round of over €18m, with the cash coming from Audi and mobile technology giant Qualcomm.

The new funding, which brings its overall backing to more than €30m, is being driven by the company's strong performance in connecting computers, cars and machines to one another using its own mobile networks and software.

The company holds 'virtual' mobile licenses across Europe, North America and Asia uses these to connect manufacturers' devices to internet services.

Key customers include Elon Musk's electric car manufacturer Tesla. The company has recently held discussions with multiple car manufacturers.

The new deals come after Cubic agreed to supply the world's biggest department store chain, Walmart, with own-brand discount roaming cards. A similar deal was struck with the Woolworths chain in Australia.

HP and Lenovo are also major customers of the firm.

The company, run by entrepreneurs Barry Napier and Gerry McQuaid, also recently struck a deal last week with Digicel, the mobile operator run by businessman Denis O'Brien across the Caribbean, Central America and Asia Pacific. The deal will see Cubic's technology used to allow 'machine-to-machine' communications across Digicel's 33 markets.

"We appreciate the investment from Audi and Qualcomm as we continue to expand our market presence,” said Barry Napier, Cubic’s chief executive. “The automotive industry is changing faster than ever, and connectivity in the car is at the heart of it. With this new round of financing, Cubic Telecom, along with our strategic partners, will be at the core of this transformative new phase for the automotive industry."

Cubic “will continue to invest in its unique software platform and global connectivity network, in addition to focusing on expanding its operations across the world to meet the demands and global footprint requirements of its rapidly expanding customer base”, he said.

"Audi and Cubic Telecom are strong development partners of new infotainment solutions and intend to connect the models of the Audi brand even better with its environment and the Internet in the future,” said Peter Steiner, head of of Audi Electronics Venture, the subsidiary of Audi that has made the investment.

"Cubic's unique technical solution and network reach are ideally suited for the connectivity needs of a variety of products distributed on a global scale, including automobiles, laptops / tablets, medical devices and IOT / M2M modules,” said Paul Fiskness, vice president of Qualcomm's financial investments group.

“As an early stage investor in Cubic, Qualcomm is very excited to be partnering with Audi and is looking forward to collaborating with Audi in the future."    

This is Qualcomm's fourth investment in Cubic, which was advised by Arthur Cox, KPMG Corporate Finance, and Trasna Consulting.



Source: http://www.independent.ie/business/technology/cubic-telecom-completes-new-18m-funding-round-31200224.html

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