US-based wireless network infrastructure software company M87 has secured $3m in series A funding from Qualcomm Ventures, which acts as the corporate venturing arm of wireless technology producer Qualcomm, data centre services provider 21Vianet, and angel investors.
M87’s technology uses crowdsourcing technology to get the optimum network connection by using multiple radio frequencies to increase network speed by up to 20 times and expand the range for mobile devices without a signal. It works by securely searching to find another phone with a strong wi-fi connection in order to share network frequencies but not data.
Founded in 2012 at the University of Texas’s wireless engineering department, last year M87 received $500,000 seed funding from Horizon Fund, which is operated by University of Texas. The $3m investment will be used to improve the scoop and coverage of its mobile networks.
“As the demand for data and seamless voice communications continues to grow, Qualcomm is continuously looking for key technology breakthroughs to help wireless networks address the impending 1000x mobile data challenge,” said Nagraj Kashyap, senior vice president of Qualcomm Ventures.