Keeping track of, and monitoring all those IoT devices can get a bit tricky. Particularly in areas where there’s little-to-no affordable cellular network or WiFi connection, read: some of the world’s hardest-to-reach places.
To this end, Amsterdam-based Hiber has secured €26 million in EU funding and private investments to expand the world’s first global IoT satellite network.
The EIC (European Innovation Fund) has awarded a portion of the €278 million innovation fund to Hiber, thus enabling the EU to play a prominent role in the global space sector as well as enhance its autonomy. This funding from the EIC arrives in conjunction with an innovation credit provided by the Dutch government and existing shareholders.
“The €26 million funding is a fantastic validation for Hiber’s success and a major boost for the European ‘New Space’ sector. It is a key step in realising our aim of making the Internet of Things really simple and available for everyone in remote and developing regions of the world,” comments Hiber co-founder Coen Janssen.
Hiber was one of three companies chosen to receive the maximum available investment from the EIC, a testament to the role the company can play in the EU’s agenda. The fund targets the funding gap presented between startup and scaleup, an area where European venture capital markets relatively underperform when compared to the global VC market.
The new funding doesn’t come without some shake up however. Laurens Groenendijk will “step aside” as managing director, reportedly to turn his attention to his “other” investment initiatives, while Steven Kroonsberg, former Principal at Boston Consulting Group and CFO at WePayPeople will join as Hiber CFO, and Roel Jansen, former VP of Sales at SurveyMonkey will join as Chief Commercial Officer.
Would you like to write the first comment?
Login to post comments