US-based IoT provider Ubicquia has closed a $30 million Series C funding round with new investment from Florida-based Fuel Venture Capital, as well as existing investors. The investment is focused on “accelerating” Ubicquia’s small cell and smart grid product offerings, and expanding its manufacturing capacity.
The Fort Lauderdale firm makes modular smart lighting control platforms, from which cities and utilities can also hang all manner of sensors and communications technologies, including public Wi-Fi and private LTE. Its platform plugs into a streetlight photocell socket and goes live “in minutes”. It is geared to getting cities and utilities to expand into other smart city disciplines, such as traffic management and public safety.
Ubicquia claims to have deployed in more than 100 cities, globally, with recent expansion also into Mexico, Colombia and Chile. It announced late last year the addition of LTE-based CBRS functionality to its Ubimetro-branded small cells, alongside a new deployment in the City of Las Vegas with AT&T.
Ubicquia acquired CityIQ, a provider of infrastructure solutions for traffic management, from GE Current in May. CityIQ has more than 8,000 edge-based and AI-enabled cameras deployed across the US and Canada for traffic optimization and public safety. In April, Ubicquia released a new Ubicell 2.0 router for street lights that it claims is the simplest, cheapest, and most sophisticated way for smart cities to control their various tech sensors.
Ian Aaron, chief executive at Ubicquia, said: “This $30 million in growth capital will allow Ubicquia to accelerate our solutions that are addressing critical needs of cities and utilities globally in the areas of energy savings, transportation optimization, public safety and monitoring of critical infrastructure. Our public Wi-Fi, private LTE and small cell solutions that simply plug into existing streetlights are helping communities and school districts more rapidly and cost-effectively address COVID connectivity concerns and bridge the digital divide.”
Maggie Vo, managing partner at Fuel Venture Capital and chief investment officer at Ubicquia, commented: “Under the leadership of Ian and the guidance of an experienced board of directors, Ubicquia has exponentially expanded its reach and abilities and shown enviable aptitude in leveraging opportunities in major cities in need. I look forward to exploring more opportunities across the globe.”
Fuel Venture Capital has led two of the largest funding rounds in Florida in 2020: a $25 million seed raise by Boca Raton-based PredaSAR, and a $7.5 million round by Miami micro-mobility startup Bolt Mobility.
