AUSTIN, Texas, Nov. 2, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Phunware, whose
Multiscreen as a Service (MaaS) platform helps brands to engage,
manage and monetize their anytime, anywhere mobile application
users worldwide, today announced that it raised an additional
$22 million of Series F growth
financing, led by Khazanah Nasional Berhad, the strategic
investment fund of the Government of Malaysia ("Khazanah"), Wavemaker Partners and
PLDT Capital, the investment arm of Philippine Long Distance
Telephone Company ("PLDT") (PSE: TEL) (NYSE: PHI). This second
closing brings the company's total Series F raised to date to
$40 million, with the balance
expected to close during the current quarter.
The round includes additional investment by current investors
Fraser McCombs Capital, Maxima Ventures, WWE (NYSE: WWE), Central
Texas Angel Network (CTAN) and Baylor Angel Network (BAN) amongst
others. The investment brings the total raised by Phunware since
inception to $90 million, and comes
during another record year for Phunware. In 2016, Phunware
continued its aggressive growth trajectory, fueled by the recent
launch of Phunware Data, which helps brands better capitalize on
today's digital and mobile data trails, with access to data across
more than 650 million monthly active users touching the Phunware
MaaS platform through thousands of branded mobile application
portfolios. The company is operating at an annualized bookings run
rate of approximately $70 million and
continues to be recognized for its growth and leadership in both
the mobile and multiscreen clouds. Aside from recently being named
to the Inc. 5000 List of America's Fastest-Growing Private
Companies for the fourth consecutive year, Phunware is a two-time
Forbes' Most Promising Companies in America honoree, a three-time
Deloitte Technology Fast 500 winner and a five-time ABJ Fast 50
recipient.
"Since our inception in 2009, Phunware has been uniquely leading
the way in mobile innovation," said Alan S.
Knitowski, Chairman, CEO and Co-Founder of Phunware. "We are
the only mobile, native and fully-integrated-first multiscreen
cloud platform in the world and our MaaS platform products and
solutions currently power more than 40 billion mobile user events
every month and more than 1 trillion transactions annually. This
funding will help turn every one of our global application touch
points into an opportunity to reach, engage with and convert users
on a 1:1 basis, and will further our vision of having every device
in the Internet of Things touch the Phunware platform by 2020."
Today, mobile continues to be the best way for brands to reach
and convert users 1:1, representing more than 65% of digital media
time according to comScore, nearly 90% of which is spent in mobile
applications. Reports show continued mobile growth and investment
in the coming years, with Forrester Research estimating a
$32 billion mobile engagement market
by 2018, and eMarketer estimating that mobile media buying will
grow 45%, reaching nearly $46 billion
by the end of this year and representing more than a third of total
media spending in the U.S. by 2019. As consumers continue to turn
to mobile devices, they are also demanding a streamlined experience
across screens. Unlike traditional point solutions that result in
siloed mobile experiences and require complex and costly
management, Phunware's comprehensive multiscreen platform approach
enables the consistent brand experience consumers now expect, while
giving brands superior results and insights without the heavy
lifting.
For more information on Phunware MaaS platform products,
solutions and data, including how the company is driving business
growth for today's most recognized brands globally, please
visit www.phunware.com.
About Phunware
Phunware is the pioneer of Multiscreen as a Service (MaaS), a
fully integrated suite of platform products, solutions and data,
that allows brands to engage, manage and monetize their anytime,
anywhere mobile application users worldwide. Phunware creates
category-defining mobile experiences for the world's most respected
brands, with more than 650 million monthly active users touching
its platform each month. For more information about how Phunware is
transforming the way the world interacts with mobile in the virtual
and physical worlds, visit www.phunware.com and follow us on
Twitter @phunware.
For more information, contact:
Molly W. George
molly@meetkickstand.com
512.686.6405
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SOURCE Phunware