US-based off-grid mobile communications device developer GoTenna completed a $24m series C round on Tuesday backed by subsidiaries of media company Bloomberg and mass media group Comcast.
Bloomberg Beta and Comcast Ventures joined venture capital firm Founders Fund, which led the round, as well as Union Square Ventures (USV), Collaborative Fund, Walden Venture Capital and MentorTech Ventures.
Founded in 2012, GoTenna supplies wireless networking units that enable smartphones to communicate and access maps in areas lacking a standard mobile data connection.
The systems rely on GoTenna’s mobile mesh technology, which facilitates communications from one smartphone to others using meshes of interconnected devices in the same physical area.
GoTenna currently markets two product lines: a tactical communications system called GoTenna Pro that is tailored to public sector clients such as emergency responders and law enforcement, and a consumer range that facilitates activities like travelling in remote areas.
The series C capital will go to research and development, as GoTenna looks to deliver new products and solidify its reach in the public sector. It has secured contracts with the US Department of Homeland Security as well as unspecified local and state-level agencies, and is now expanding with an eye on international markets.
Bloomberg Beta participated in a $7.5m USV-led series B round for GoTenna in April 2017, investing alongside BBG Ventures, a subsidiary of telecommunications group Verizon, as well as Walden Venture Capital, MentorTech Ventures and Collaborative Fund.
The company had already received $7.5m in a 2016 series A round led by Walden VC that was backed by Bloomberg Beta, BBG Ventures, MentorTech, Wareness.io, Kenneth Horowitz and Howard Finkelstein, following $1.8m of funding in 2013. Collaborative Fund was described as an existing investor in the series B round.