KPN Ventures to acquire stake in Internet of Things platform provider Actility
KPN Ventures is participating in a capital raise by France-based Actility SA, a provider of network solutions and managed information systems for the Internet of Things market. The transaction to acquire a minority stake in Actility underscores KPN’s commitment to innovation and the early investment in new products and services for our customers.
“Partnering with Actility is in line with KPN’s ambitions to establish an Internet of Things ecosystem in the Netherlands – the next big thing in the digital landscape,” said Jasper Snijder, SVP New Business at KPN.
Both Actility and KPN are founding members of the LoRa tm alliance, a consolidated effort of renowned market players to establish a global standard for long range low power (LoRa) connectivity and to enable Internet of Things, machine-to-machine, smart city, and industrial applications. The LoRaTM alliance was established in March 2015. As previously communicated, KPN plans to introduce LoRa in the Netherlands before the end of the year.
The investment falls within the scope of KPN Ventures, a fund aimed at promoting outside-in innovation and increasing KPN’s exposure to the start-up community. Foxconn’s European venture capital partner Ginko Ventures, and European telecommunication providers Orange and Swisscom, are among the investors participating in Actility’s financing round totalling USD 25 million.