IoT startup Hologram raises $4.8M to build a cellular platform

IoT startup, Hologram, which uses its own cloud-friendly cellular network to connect any device to the internet has raised $4.8 million in funding led by Drive Capital. The money will be used to grow the team and scale the company’s cellular network. According to the company, unlike legacy cellular connectivity solutions, which are geared towards mobile phones and tablets, the Hologram platform is “purpose-built” for developing and deploying IoT products. The Chicago-based company claims that by running its own cellular network, Hologram is able to provide an end-to-end connectivity solution which marries a global cellular network with fully-certified hardware and a cloud platform for device messaging. Ben Forgan, CEO of Hologram, likens the challenge of building cellular connected devices to setting up a website in 1998 “when you had to buy server equipment and run it in your closet.” Teams, according to him, are spending a disproportionate amount of time rolling their own infrastructure when they should be focused on their core product. “Hologram is changing this with a cellular platform that handles the infrastructure for you,” Forgan said.

“With the investment from Drive Capital we can accelerate our growth to continue to build new features and products to support our expanding base of customers, both big and small.”

The company claims that it has more than 50,000 existing connections globally and initial customers including Kelloggs, Metromile and Placemeter. For the record, Hologram was founded in 2013 and was formerly known as Konekt. The company raised $1.3 million in February last year. So what interested Drive Capital to invest in the IoT company? Nick Solaro, partner at Drive Capital, said, “Hologram is re-defining the IoT connectivity market with elegantly designed, easy to use technology that transforms the world of connected things.” Solaro believes that Hologram is building a robust, developer-friendly platform suitable for small and large enterprise companies alike, and with more investments will continue to set the pace in the rapidly emerging IoT market.