SkyPilot Networks gets $3.4M for municipal WiFi
Municipal WiFi just won’t die. The scheme has failed in city after city, even stumbling in tech-heavy Silicon Valley, yet companies have continued, on and off, to get funding. The latest is SkyPilot Networks, with a comparatively small $3.4 million (compared to its $70+ million total).
SkyPilot makes broadcasting equipment like base stations, as well as tools for mesh networks like antennae. It’s mesh networks, in fact, which are driving much of the remaining growth for city-wide WiFi — mostly for use in security systems, or for emergency responders like fire departments.
The funding is the last bit needed to get SkyPilot to profitability, the CEO said in in a release. August Capital and Mobius Venture Capital provided the funding, along with other existing investors.
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Tags: co:skypilot networks, deal, inv:august-Capital, inv:Mobius-Venture-Capital
Chris Morrison writes about cleantech and environmental issues for VentureBeat, with occasional forays into gaming and semantic technology. He got his start writing about tech for Business 2.0 magazine, but quickly realized new media was the ticket when that institution closed its doors in 2007. Chris has also covered public equities and regulatory issues. He originally hails from southern Virginia, graduated from Evergreen State College in Washington, and now lives in San Francisco.