Finland Times

Source: Business Oulu website.

KNL Networks, a pioneer in “Internet Anywhere” technology that can even be used anywhere in the world, announced last week that it has closed a combined total of more than USD 10 million in a major “Series A” round of funding.

 

Representing one of the largest Nordic “Series A” rounds, KNL has been in stealth mode for the past four years developing a new wireless communications system able to provide IP communication even to the most extreme and isolated locations on earth.

 

The lead investor in the “Series A” is Creandum while the co-investors are Inventure and Butterfly Ventures. Leading Angel investors who also participated in the funding include Bittium (formerly Elektrobit) Founder Juha Hulkko, the Tamares Group led by Poju Zabludowicz, and DST Global Partner John Lindfors.

 

“KNL has been extremely fortunate to have attracted continued interest from our seed-level investors as well as visionary VCs and angels who have seen the tremendous capabilities offered by our technology. Like Facebook and Google, we see ‘Internet Anywhere’ as a means to an end, and we believe our technology is ideally suited to making that happen in a wide range of industries, applications and geographies worldwide,” said KNL CEO Toni Linden.

 

KNL’s patented communication system relies on shortwave radio transmissions, allowing data to be transmitted over thousands of kilometres. By combining the very latest cognitive software radio technologies with a completely reinvented HF-radio system, KNL is uniquely capable of providing IP-based communications over traditional radio waves.

 

KNL Networks is the only alternative to satellite communications and is currently in-use on ocean fleets traversing both the Atlantic and the Pacific. Compared to satellite communication, the advantage of KNL is that it has no expensive satellites to maintain or operate. The technology offers broader network coverage enabled by long-range high frequency channels operating at a fraction of the cost of satellite networks. KNL provides extremely secure and reliable communication that is globally available, easier to use than satellite and always-on.

 

By enabling “Internet Anywhere,” a wide range of use-cases for the technology includes live streaming of sensor data, enabling mission-critical online systems, autonomous vessels, IoT connectivity, and more.

 

KNL Networks communication solutions are ideal for situations where failure is simply not acceptable: whether a natural disaster, a peacekeeping mission or business-critical communication, KNL enables always-on IP connectivity when it is most needed.

 

Based in Oulu, KNL Networks has additional offices in Helsinki, the UK, and Norway.