Offering a platform that boosts connectivity and performance for asset-rich industries, Copenhagen-based Onomondo has raised about €20.2 million. The Danish team has created a single virtualised IoT network – reimagining existing infrastructure.
Asset-rich industries such as transport, manufacturing and logistics have been turning to the Internet of Things (IoT) to manage supply chains, improve automation and drive efficiency. But, this digital transformation has come with many sticking points for the sector. Despite advances in the tech stack, connectivity, in particular, has been a major roadblock. Aiming to overcome this, Onomondo has raised €20.2 million in a new funding round led by Verdane.
Currently, companies in asset-rich industries are generally relying on a patchwork of national telecom operators or Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs). This patchwork means enterprises cannot gain sufficient interoperability, visibility, or control over their connected assets on a global basis.
Digital transformation is the future – there is virtually no industry that hasn’t already set down this path, and the manufacturing, transport and logistics sectors are no different. But to happen at scale, a fresh look at the technical and commercial architecture for IoT connectivity is needed. Onomondo is addressing this, having built a single virtualised IoT network, without reliance on the traditional operator network stack.
Michael Karlsen, Co-Founder & CEO, and Henrik Aagaard, Co-Founder & CTO at Onomondo explained: “It’s interesting how the attention in IoT has traditionally centered around Hardware and Cloud. Connectivity was the commodity added in the end. We see a clear shift now towards the market asking for more from their connectivity solution. This trend will dramatically heighten the success rate of IoT and lower both complexity and barriers to entry. All of this will eventually benefit both people, profit, and planet. Onomondo and our recent momentum is a clear representation of this shift and we have found Verdane to be the perfect partner to help us deliver fully on this vision and accelerate our growth.”
The Danish company, founded in 2012, has integrated more than 700 operators at the Radio Access Network (RAN) level across more than 180 countries, and, layered its API-based IoT platform on top. This means users gain granular, real-time insight into the performance of each connected device, allowing them to tap into their global grid and troubleshoot IoT devices from anywhere.
Devices connected to Onomondo contain an interoperable SIM card, meaning assets can seamlessly move across national borders without the inherent complexity of roaming. Data is transferred directly across the Onomondo virtual network to one of the firm’s cloud partners (Microsoft Azure, AWS, Google Cloud and more), so enterprises can easily understand what is going on between devices and the network, through to the core network, and on to the IoT cloud from a single interface.
Further, the platform includes a connectivity marketplace. This means that enterprises can set priorities based on cost, coverage and performance, empowering the platform to automatically select the best operator in any given location, at any given time. This feature prevents operator lock-in by offering the freedom to control precisely which networks devices connect to, as well as giving enterprises the flexibility to balance the quality of coverage and cost-optimization, depending on the use case.
This new capital injection will be used to drive growth and meet the company’s planned projection of tripling its ARR in 2022 and 2023. Onomondo also plans to scale its team from 50 to 100 by the end of 2022, helping to expand its customer base, which currently includes the likes of Bosch, Carlsberg, and Maersk.
Pål Malmros, Partner at Verdane, added: “Drawing from a deep understanding of traditional network infrastructure, Michael, Henrik and the Onomondo team is bringing a fresh, next-generation approach to the challenges the IoT market continues to face today. We are convinced that Onomondo’s solution has the potential to vastly accelerate global roll-out of IoT, as well as expand the total set of addressable use cases, and we look forward to partnering with the company to significantly accelerate the business’ expansion and growth internationally, drawing on the Verdane team’s experience from over 45 other software investments.”