On Monday, Boston-based startup Blues Wireless announced the closing of its $22 million Series A funding round. Sequoia Capital and Lachy Groom led the round, with participation from several other investors, including existing backer Bill Gates.
Blues Wireless previously raised $11 million in seed funding in March of 2020.
The number of Internet-of-Things connected devices has been steadily growing over the past few years, with no signs of slowing down. Everything from cars, to scooters, to household appliances and more can be connected to the internet. And there’s a lot that that internet connection can do — it can give bus stops access to real-time arrival info, it can allow your smart speaker to stay up-to-date, it can allow your smart TV to connect to your streaming accounts and so on. But in order for any of this to happen, manufacturers have to create the necessary hardware to keep these devices connected.
Blues Wireless is one of those manufacturers. The company’s flagship product is its Notecard, an IoT chip that can add LTE and 5G cellular connectivity to any compatible device. Notecard is easy to deploy, consumes little power and has a small footprint. It also includes a 10-year pre-paid global data plan. This allows companies designing IoT devices to ensure those devices are connected to the internet without too much extra work.
Founded in 2019, Blues Wireless announced general availability of Notecard in late 2020.
“We offer a simple, affordable solution to a complex and costly problem: helping companies connect their products to the cloud, securely and with minimal effort,” Blues Wireless CEO and founder Ray Ozzie said in a statement. “Since bringing Notecard to market, we’ve had great feedback and strong demand. This funding, combined with our world-class team and investors, will help to accelerate our progress toward connecting billions of customers’ remote assets to the cloud.”
This new Series A funding will allow the company to invest in hardware R&D and associated services. Blues Wireless also said that it will use the money to grow its marketing, sales and operations teams. The company currently has a handful of open jobs listed on its website.
