Founded in 2003, US-based Skyhook Wireless has developed a metropolitan-area positioning system that leverages Wi-Fi rather than satellites or cell towers to deliver location data supporting the growing market for location- based services.
When Intel Capital first backed the group, following on from seed money partially supplied by mobile phone maker Nokia, in 2005, the market for Wi-Fi, let alone value-added services was nascent at best.
The transformation in wireless broadband and the need for services since then through the launch of Apple’s iPhone and iPad to kick-start the smartphone and tablet markets has helped Skyhook, investors said, as they are Wi-Fi only.
Intel Capital was understood to have been interested because of the incipient launch of its Centrino chip in 2005 for the mobile market.
Venture capital firm Bain Ventures led Skyhook’s $6.5m series A round in 2005, with Intel Capital the other new investor. Existing investors Innovent, an entrepreneurial innovation unit in Nokia, and CommonAngels also after providing $1.8m previously to Skyhook.
At the time Scott Darling, then-vice-president of Intel Capital, said: "Intel has played a pivotal role in the explosive growth of Wi-Fi enabling new applications for service providers, enterprises and consumers."
Subsequently, Intel Capital reinvested in Skyhook’s $8.5m B round in July 2007 to expand the Skyhook Wireless coverage network to Europe and Asia.