Skylo Emerges From Stealth With $116 Million in Funding for Most Affordable IoT Satellite Data Network

SAN MATEO, Calif. & BANGALORE, India & TEL AVIV, Israel, January 21, 2020 (Skylo PR) — Skylo, maker of the world’s most affordable and ubiquitous network that connects any machine or sensor, today announced that the company has emerged from Stealth with $116 million in total funding. The company previously raised $13 million in a Series A round that was co-led by DCM and Innovation Endeavors, and joined by Moore Strategic Ventures. The new Series B round raised $103 million, led by SoftBank Group and joined by all existing investors.

Skylo will bring instant, affordable and ubiquitous Internet of Things connectivity to millions of machines, sensors and devices, even in the most remote geographies. It is the world’s first company to leverage the cellular Narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT) protocol via satellite, making it possible to instantly connect billions of sensors on objects and machines in remote areas.

Skylo’s new satellite connectivity leverages existing geostationary satellites to bring reliable connectivity without the need to add new infrastructure in space. Skylo has successfully built and proven its end-to-end technology and completed successful commercial field trials with major enterprise and government customers. The company’s customers already include enterprise and government entities in a range of industries including automotive, railways, agriculture and maritime.

Skylo costs 95% less than existing satellite solutions, with connectivity starting at just $1 per user and hardware that costs less than $100. Skylo is the world’s most affordable satellite technology and will enable operations for remote businesses, increase safety, drive economic development and job creation, and help with disaster preparedness and response.

“Skylo envisions a world where connectivity for machines, sensors and devices is as ubiquitous as the sky,” said Skylo co-founder and CEO Parthsarathi “Parth” Trivedi. “This low-cost, global fabric of connectivity for machine data will be transformative for entire industries.”

The use cases for Skylo are diverse and transformational for industry and government customers:

Skylo’s end-to-end solution encompasses the Skylo Hub, the Skylo Network, the Skylo Data Platform and Skylo API. Mass manufacturing of the Skylo Hub is underway and the Skylo Network is already live with early customers.

“Skylo lives up to the definition of a disruptive innovation — with its low costs, it will enable millions of unconnected devices to experience the transformative effects of connectivity — saving lives, enhancing livelihoods and creating connections where they didn’t exist before,” said Skylo Board Chairman and former U.S. Ambassador Terry Kramer. “Skylo is a global game-changer.”

“Skylo’s satellite technology creates an affordable way to connect more of the physical world to the internet, even in remote areas,” said Yoshi Segawa, vice president at SoftBank Group International. “Skylo’s antenna technology and use of the narrowband internet of things protocol is revolutionary, and we look forward to working with the company in developing new use cases.”

Skylo was founded in 2017 by CEO Parth Trivedi, Chief Technology Officer Dr. Andrew Nuttall and Chief Hub Architect Dr. Andrew Kalman. The company’s current Board of Directors includes Board Chairman former U.S. Ambassador Terry Kramer, David Chao of DCM, Scott Brady of Innovation Endeavors, Harpinder “Harpi” Singh of Innovation Endeavors, and Skylo CEO Trivedi. Following the receipt of required regulatory approvals, SoftBank Group will also have a representative on the Board of Directors, who will be Yoshi Segawa. Skylo has offices in San Mateo, Calif., Bangalore, India, and Tel Aviv, Israel, and is growing the team globally to support its fast-growing customer base.

Skylo will scale customer implementations first in India and other emerging markets, where it has already started implementing the technology in a range of industries. Skylo’s service will be commercially available later this summer and the company is in commercial trials with users in the U.S. and other world regions for subsequent launches and market expansion.

ABOUT SKYLO:

Skylo Technologies brings real-time, affordable and ubiquitous Internet of Things connectivity to millions of machines, sensors and devices, even in the most remote places on Earth. Skylo is disruptively affordable — costing 95% less than traditional satellite connectivity — and is the first company leverage the cellular Narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT) protocol for satellite communications. Skylo can connect sensors on millions of objects and machines in remote areas across a wide range of industries including agriculture, fishing, railways, logistics, utilities infrastructure and more.

ABOUT DCM

DCM is a global venture capital firm based in Silicon Valley, Beijing, and Tokyo with over $4 billion under management. DCM has invested in more than 400 early-stage technology companies globally, and provides hands-on operational guidance and a global network of business and financial resources. DCM has backed industry leading companies including Careem (Uber), Bill.com, Sansan, Freee, Life360, Musical.ly (TikTok), Fortinet, Sling Media, Wrike, 51job, 58.com, BitAuto, Dangdang, Happy Elements, Houchebang (ManBang), Kakao Talk, TanTan, Tuniu, Vipshop, UCloud and Uxin. DCM has also invested in exciting, rising startups such as FuboTV, Hims, Lime, Plenty, SoFi, Kuaishou, Maimai and Pony.ai. For more information, visit www.dcm.com.

ABOUT INNOVATION ENDEAVORS

Innovation Endeavors is an early-stage venture capital firm that invests in visionary founders, transformational technologies and emergent ecosystems. The firm’s central investment thesis, the Super Evolution, combines data, leading-edge computation, and advanced engineering to transform industries, from agriculture and logistics to life sciences, transportation and more. Innovation Endeavors is headquartered in Silicon Valley. Its investments include: Fabric; Freenome; Planet; Plenty; SoFi; Uber; and Zymergen. For more information, visit www.InnovationEndeavors.com.