Founders: Robin Chase, Roy Russell, Joao Barros, Susana Sargento
Launched: 2012
Funding: $26.9 million
Valuation: $85.4 million
Disrupting: Wi-Fi
Rival: Maxima Telecom
By now, most people have heard of the Internet of Things —the notion that everyday objects can have network connectivity and are able to send and receive data. Well, how about the Internet of Moving Things? That's Veniam's proposal.
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This Mountainview, California-based company — whose founders include two of the people that helped to start Zipcar — turns moving vehicles such as cars and buses into live networks that allow people to be online without being dependent on a cellular network. The company can also take the data it collects to keep track of buses and other municipal vehicles and even better manage traffic flows and alternate routes.
Veniam's technology can best be seen right now in Porto, Portugal, where its hardware has been installed onto the public bus system. The company claims that about 73 percent of the city's bus riders with mobile devices are using Veniam's free Wi-Fi. The next market for the company this year is Singapore, with plans to eventually launch its network within U.S. cities.
Funding, totaling $27 million so far, comes from True Ventures, Verizon Ventures, Cisco Investments and Union Square Ventures.
Source: Veniam
João Barros, founder and CEO of Veniam
