Cubic Telecom raises €11m in funding from Act Venture Capital

21 Jan 2020

From left: James Dennis (CTO), Barry Napier (CEO), Gerry McQuaid (CCO). Image: Cubic Telecom

After recently receiving €23.5m from the European Investment Bank, Cubic Telecom has closed a further €11m in funding.

Cubic Telecom, the Irish technology company founded by serial entrepreneur Pat Phelan in 2005, has raised more than €11m in funding, according to The Irish Times.

The latest investment comes from long-term backer, Act Venture Capital, which has been investing in Cubic Telecom since 2013.

Now led by former EY Entrepreneur of the Year finalist Barry Napier, Cubic Telecom has previously raised around $110m according to Crunchbase, including a recent investment of €23.5m from the European Investment Bank. Other investors include Audi, Qualcomm, Enterprise Ireland and Sierra Wireless.

The news comes just weeks after Cubic Telecom announced a new partnership with Irish drone food delivery platform Manna, with the eventual aim of delivering food from restaurants and centralised kitchens directly to consumers’ homes.

According to The Irish Times, Cubic Telecom recorded pre-tax losses of €12.7m in 2018, which was down from €18.9m a year earlier. The company also reported an 80pc rise in turnover to €19.8m.

Recent achievements

Cubic Telecom has more than 65 mobile operator partnerships in more than 180 countries. One of the company’s most recent deals was with United Arab Emirates telecoms player Etisalat.

The Irish company will work with Etisalat to enable drivers and passengers within the UAE to benefit from various mobility applications, while paving the way to launch 5G-based multi-model transportation solutions.

Specialising in connected intelligence, Cubic Telecom was also recently named as a ‘niche player’ in Gartner’s Magic Quadrant for Managed IoT Connectivity Services, which outlined Cubic Telecom’s focus on a small segment, supporting client needs and executing project delivery well.

The Irish telecoms business describes itself as a “pioneer” in SIM card-based technologies, offering mobility solutions for IoT, automotive and mobile device companies across the globe.

Cubic has developed a multi-IMSI single-SIM technology that enables connectivity at an affordable rate. The company creates proprietary SIMs to meet application-specific requirements, which are embedded into devices at the manufacturing stage.

Kelly Earley was a journalist with Silicon Republic

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