Oulu-based KNL Networks, a pioneer of new telecommunications technology, has raised more than $10 million in one of the largest Series A funding rounds in Nordic countries ever.
KNL has been in stealth mode for the past four years developing a new wireless communications system able to provide IP communication even to the most extreme and isolated locations on Earth. The system relies on shortwave radio transmissions, allowing data to be transmitted over thousands of kilometres.
The startup says it is uniquely capable of providing IP-based communications over traditional radio waves – making it the only alternative to costly satellite communications that is currently in use on ocean fleets traversing both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.
KNL says it provides extremely secure and reliable communication that is globally available, easier to use than satellite and always-on. By enabling this “Internet Anywhere”, a wide range of use-cases for the technology includes live streaming of sensor data, enabling mission-critical online systems, autonomous vessels, IoT connectivity and more.
The money
The lead investor in the Series A was Creandum, with co-investors Inventure and Butterfly Ventures (both participants in the 2014 2 million euro seed round ).
“KNL has been extremely fortunate to have attracted continued interest from our Seed-level investors as well as visionary VCs and angels who have seen the tremendous capabilities offered by our technology. Like Facebook and Google, we see “Internet Anywhere” as a means to an end, and we believe our technology is ideally suited to making that happen in a wide range of industries, applications and geographies worldwide,” said Toni Linden, CEO of KNL.
