Helium, the pioneer of decentralized wireless communications, announced a new name - Nova Labs - and a $200M Series D equity round led by Tiger Global and Andreessen Horowitz.
With the new funds, Nova Labs will invest in the Helium ecosystem through hiring and funding additional development resources to improve the Network; driving continued wireless protocol support, and building new applications on top of the Helium Network powered by cryptocurrency. The company will also invest in growing the Nova Labs team, and working towards a decentralized future of wireless connectivity.
Alongside the investment, Helium, the corporate entity that was founded in 2013, has been renamed to Nova Labs, providing a clearer distinction between the corporate entity and the open-sourced Helium Network that is owned and operated by the people. Nova Labs will continue to develop and support the advancement of decentralized wireless technologies on the Helium Network.
Since the launch of the Helium Network in 2019, Nova Labs has enabled global IoT and 5G networks that have created a new category of connectivity and given hundreds of thousands of everyday people the opportunity to build the Network from home and earn rewards.
The company’s blockchain-based model empowers people around the world to become a mini cell tower by deploying Hotspots and rewarding them in the Helium Network’s native token, $HNT, for providing coverage. This incentive model, originally created by Nova Labs, has enabled the Helium ecosystem to build wireless infrastructure faster – more than 4,000% growth in a little over a year – than big telecommunication companies at a fraction of the cost. The Helium Network launched in 2019 and earlier this year surpassed half a million Hotspots, and today provides coverage for over 52,000 cities across 169 countries.
Nova Labs’ ability to scale wireless infrastructure has been recognized by leading brands including Goodyear, who is not only an investor but is also exploring ways to become an enterprise customer. Goodyear joins IoT and network industry leaders including Actility, Senet, Kore, X-TELIA and DISH who partnered with the Network to use its coverage for enterprise customers including, Volvo Group, Cisco, Schneider Electric, Accenture, Olympus, One Planet, Careband, Hoopo, Invoxia, Victor, and others.
Amir Haleem, founder and CEO of Nova Labs
With Helium, we built the foundation for the world’s first decentralized wireless network, leveraging the power of blockchain to democratize access to the internet at a global scale. Through Nova Labs, we are expanding our mission, pioneering a cultural movement towards the decentralization of all wireless protocols, and we’re grateful to Tiger Global, a16z, Goodyear Ventures, and others for backing our vision.
