Verizon Ventures, the corporate venture capital arm of telecommunications company Verizon, has co-led a $15m funding round for US-based wireless industrial network developer Filament with venture capital firm Bullpen Capital.
Intel Capital, JetBlue Technology Ventures, CME Ventures, Lab IX and Samsung Next, respective subsidiaries of chipmaker Intel, airline JetBlue, exchange operator CME Group, supply chain services provider Flextronics and electronics producer Samsung, also took part.
The round was filled out by Backstage Capital, Tappan Hill Ventures, Resonant Venture Partners and Digital Currency Group.
Filament is developing industrial internet hardware and software through which businesses can monitor their assets through long-range wireless network.
The funding will go to expanding Filament’s hardware production capabilities and adding pinpoint GPS to its platform as it looks to grow its delivery partner ecosystem.
The company has now raised $21.8m in total, including $5m in a 2015 series A round led by Bullpen Capital that included Verizon Ventures, Samsung subsidiary Samsung Ventures, Crosslink Capital, Digital Currency Group, Haystack, Working Lab Capital and Techstars.
Verizon Ventures director Ed Ruth said: “Filament’s technology delivers a uniquely secure and scalable solution for industrial infrastructure where connectivity is intermittent or unavailable.
“We look forward to supporting Filament’s growth as the team continues to build the hardware and software foundation for a decentralised IoT (internet of things).”
Doug Fisher, general manager of Intel’s Software and Services Group, will join Filament’s board of directors. He said: “At Intel, we believe the future of IoT will be enabled by smart, connected, secure edge-devices that drive a data-based economy.
“Intel is creating transformative technologies to enable large-scale industrial IoT deployments, and our investment in Filament will help support that vision.”