Third public investment made through the Soracom IoT Fund to expand the IoT ecosystem
Seattle, WA – April 2, 2019 – Soracom, Inc., a global provider of smart connectivity for the Internet of Things (IoT), today announced it has funded a substantial investment in smart tracker developer Pebblebee. This investment contributes to an ongoing $10M funding round and marks the third publicly-disclosed investment through the Soracom IoT Fund. Pebblebee, based in Seattle, designs feature rich location tracking solutions and will benefit from Soracom’s support in ongoing research and development efforts, new product development and further expansion of its IP portfolio.
First established in 2012, Pebblebee has grown from a dramatically successful Kickstarter offering to a leader in the growing asset tracking category. Founders Nick Pearson-Franks and Daniel Daoura collaborated to achieve their vision to help people stay connected to their valuables and loved ones with consumers’ cell phones. The company raised more than $200,000 in its 2014 Kickstarter campaign, wildly surpassing its goal of $30,000.
“Soracom is passionate about identifying and supporting companies like Pebblebee that contribute to the growth of global IoT infrastructure in creative and innovative ways. Pebblebee's hardware expertise and impressive patent library are already advancing the state of the art in the crucial asset tracking category. By providing both smart connectivity and strategic investments, Soracom helps to accelerate IoT development and create a more connected world,” said Eugene Kawamoto, CEO, Soracom Americas, who will also take a seat on the Pebblebee board of directors.
In addition to the investment, Soracom and Pebblebee are planning future collaborations that will support the development and deployment of IoT tracking solutions.
“At Pebblebee we are dedicated to helping people stay connected to their valuables and loved ones, it is both our mission and our obsession,” said Daniel Daoura, Co-Founder and CEO of Pebblebee. “The Soracom IoT fund investment will help Pebblebee to fulfill that mission, adding greater opportunities and technical resources to continually improve and expand our product line.”
The Soracom IoT Fund program previously announced round-leading investments in resin.io (June 2018, now balena.io) and Unabiz (August 2018). The program was launched in 2018 by Soracom’s parent company, KDDI Corporation, one of the largest telecommunications companies in Japan. The IoT Fund program reflects Soracom’s dedication to identifying and supporting early-stage companies that have the potential to make meaningful contributions to the global IoT ecosystem.
About Soracom:
Soracom is a global provider of smart IoT connectivity, offering cloud-native wireless service designed specifically for the needs of connected devices. Founded in 2015 to create a more connected world by removing the barriers to IoT development, Soracom now serves over 10,000 customers across all industries, from agriculture, energy, construction and transportation to consumer electronics, manufacturing, real estate and healthcare. From global enterprises to fast-growing startups, customers trust Soracom for affordable, reliable connectivity that accelerates speed to market and makes it easy to connect to the cloud. Soracom is an AWS IoT Competency Partner. More information is available at www.soracom.io.
About Pebblebee:
Pebblebee is a multifaceted trackables company helping people save time with our patented tracking solutions. The Pebblebee idea first emerged in 2012 as a necessary solution to staying connected with a curious toddler’s endless ability to hide things like keys and remote controls. After failed attempts at other homemade solutions, both founders, Daniel and Nick, collaborated to find a way to take back control. That meeting resulted in a vision: help people stay connected to their valuables and loved ones. More information is available at
www.pebblebee.com.
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