US MVNO FreedomPop announced another USD 6 million in financing, including a new investment from Asian mobile operator Axiata. A month ago FreedomPop announced a USD 30 million, Series B round led by Partech Ventures. The latest investment includes USD 6 million of new funding, plus USD 4 million that was ring-fenced in the USD 30 million round, Multichannel reports.
In total, FreedomPop has raised about USD 58 million. The company announced earlier plans to launch in the UK and other European markets and now plans to work with Axiata to bring its 'freemium' model to Asia. FreedomPop offers a small amount of mobile data free to customers, who can then add additional paid services. FreemdomPop said that Axiata’s investment "comes with a major commercial partnership that will help take FreedomPop to a whole new level globally, not only by extending our reach, but by expanding how we work with carriers around the world". The company is in similar partnership talks with other major global carriers, it said.
TechCrunch reported separately that the other new investor at FreedomPop is a “major tech firm” from the US. A source familiar with the matter said that the new investor will use its commercial partnership with FreedomPop to “take on Google Fi at a device level and Qualcomm at a chip level. The company is expected to announce its partnership with FreedomPop in the next month or so.
