US-based wireless service provider FreedomPop, backed by mobile network operator Axiata and chip maker Intel, raised $50m in series C capital on Wednesday from unnamed investors.
FreedomPop offers a freemium mobile phone plan that gives users 500 megabytes of data, 200 minutes of call time and unlimited text messages for free each month. Additional data, minutes or features can be purchased for a fee.
The phone plan is currently available in the US and the UK. The company will launch a mobile hotspot device in the US and the UK to give users 200 megabytes of free data per month in their own countries as well as 24 European countries.
The fresh funding will also help FreedomPop accelerate its international expansion into markets across Europe, Asia and South America. The company is set to announce strategic partnerships with mobile carriers in the coming months.
FreedomPop previously obtained $36m in a series B round, raised over two tranches. The company raised an initial $30m in June 2015 in a round led by corporate-backed venture capital firm Partech Ventures that also featured VC firms DCM and Mangrove Capital.
Axiata backed an extension in August 2015, which was reported as $10m at the time. In November 2015, Intel’s corporate venturing unit Intel Capital was revealed to have supported the extension and FreedomPop CEO Stephen Stokols disclosed to Recode that the second tranche was in fact $6m.
FreedomPop claims to have raised more than $109m in total funding, though press releases and regulatory filings only confirm $19.3m in capital from DCM, Mangrove and Atomico ahead of the series B round.