Investment firm LetterOne invested $50m today in FreedomPop, a US-based mobile service provider that counts semiconductor technology manufacturer Intel and telecommunications group Axiata as investors.
Founded in 2012, FreedomPop provides freemium wireless data, voice and text services on networks owned by telecom operators Clearwire and Sprint.
FreedomPop expanded from the US to the UK and Spain earlier this year and intends to move into another eight markets by the end of 2017, and across Asia, Europe and Latin America afterwards.
The company revealed in January this year it had lined up $50m in series C funding without disclosing investors, but Luxembourg-registered LetterOne said today it had been waiting for clearance from the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States to close the deal.
The round brings FreedomPop’s total funding to approximately $109m. It closed a $36m series B round in 2015 led by Partech Ventures that included Axiata and Intel Capital, the corporate venturing arm of Intel, as well as venture capital firms DCM and Mangrove Capital.
LetterOne aims to invest between $2bn and $3bn in growth-stage technology companies, and recently made a $200m investment in ride hailing platform Uber. It will help FreedomPop grow its operating relationships and expertise in telecommunications and emerging markets.