The maker of Nokia phones, HMD Global, has secured $230 million in the first of its Series A2 funding round. The sum was pitched from global strategic partners, including chip makers Qualcomm, Google and Nokia (Yes, Nokia!).
According to the company, this funding is going to be key in the implementation of HMD Global’s strategic vision in four essential areas. These are:
- Making affordable 5G smartphones for users worldwide.
- Accelerating HMD’s mission to make 5G smartphones accessible to consumers across the world.
- Transitioning to digital-first offerings as part of a new post-COVID-19 reality.
- Expanding presence in key growth markets, including Brazil, Africa and India.
HMD believes the investment will be of value to the business, strengthening its position beyond just hardware but also into mobile service provision.
Just this year, HMD Global launched its international data roaming service – HMD Connect – and enhanced its mobile cyber-security capabilities with the acquisition of assets of Valona Labs, and built dedicated resources on software, security and services with a new research and development Centre of Excellence in Tampere, Finland.
The company is currently active in 91 markets across eight regions and has 250,000 retail outlets and sold over 240 million phones to date since it began its operations in 2016.
This is the second time in HMD’s history that the start-up has raised money from outside investors. The first was in 2018, when the business was valued privately at more than $1 billion, giving it so-called unicorn status.
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