US-based wireless network technology provider Mist has completed a $46m series C round featuring subsidiaries of internet and technology conglomerate Alphabet and telecommunications firm NTT.
Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers led the round, which included fellow venture capital firms Lightspeed Venture Partners and Norwest Venture Partners.
Alphabet took part through its GV unit while NTT invested through corporate venturing arm NTT Docomo Ventures and Dimension Data, its information technology subsidiary.
Mist has created an artificial intelligence-equipped wireless local area network (LAN) that provides extra visibility into the wifi process and automates processes that would otherwise have required manual input.
The funds will go to sales and marketing as well as engineering, as the company looks to concentrate on its AI technology.
Sujai Hajela, Mist’s co-founder and chief executive, said: “Mist is leading the AI-driven IT space with the world’s first self-learning wireless LAN, which automates wireless operations, minimises costs and provides unprecedented insight into mobile user experiences
“We are humbled by the amazing array of customers who have trusted their wireless infrastructure to Mist, and grateful to the investment community for their unwavering supporting of Mist as we fulfil our mission of being the leader in AI-driven IT.”
The company has now raised more than $88m since it was founded in 2014. GV led its $28m series B round in late 2016, investing alongside Lightspeed, Norwest and Cisco Investments, the corporate VC vehicle for networking technology provider Cisco.