Dublin-based mobile technology company Accuris is set to double its headcount from 30 people to 60 people after raising US$15m in a new investment round.
The company has also appointed seasoned US-based wireless executive Jeff Brown as CEO.
Accuris’ technology is proving pivotal in joining 3G and 4G networks with blanket Wi-Fi coverage that operators see as important for satisfying data-hungry consumers long into the future.
The company’s AccuROAM technology provides carrier-grade connectivity and has been deployed across the US, Western Europe, the Middle East and Asia by operators that include AT&T, China Mobile, Digicel, Sprint and Telenor. Partner include Cisco, HP and Alcatel-Lucent.
Key investors in the company include Ulster Bank Diageo Venture Fund and the China Ireland Growth Technology Fund.
The company intends to broaden its presence in North America with the establishment of a new office in Silicon Valley.
Accuris’s CTO Aidan Dillon told Silicon Republic: “Even though operators are building 4G networks, high user demand has placed a lot of demand on the data and operators are looking to using Wi-Fi increasingly for indoor and outdoor data usage.
“Operators are investing in Voice over Wi-Fi as well as Voice over LTE.”
He said the technology developed by Accuris is also being used to provide inflight mobility solutions by companies like GoGo Internet to enable internet and telecoms services at 30,000 feet.
Accuris was established in 2003 by ex-Aldiscon workers and in the past two years focused heavily on integrating Wi-Fi with GSM and CDMA networks.
Hotspot 2.0
Dillon said that new trends like Hotspot 2.0 which makes Wi-Fi deployment behave very much like GSM networks are driving the trend and the company has been engaged in some interesting Hotspot 2.0 deployments with AT&T and Cisco.
He said the new US$15m investment will have three objectives: “Firstly it will be about future-proofing the product to stay ahead of the competition and stay in the lead. Secondly it will enable us to build on top of our existing customer base which includes players like AT&T and China Mobile.
“And the last part is to focus on product development, get new ideas and get new products out there.
“We are passionate about this industry and the opportunities in mobile data. We are only scratching at the surface and we intend to go at it full tilt.”
