Toronto-based Flybits, a company that originally incubated at Ryerson University’s Digital Media Zone (DMZ), has announced that Vodafone Ventures, one of the largest mobile operators in the world, has joined its Series A round, bringing the total to $4.75 million. Flybits had previously raised $3.75 million in August from Robert Bosch Venture Capital, Trellis Capital, MaRS Investment Accelerator Fund and Ryerson Future.
Flybits’ goal “is to build a platform that allows anyone to create context-aware mobility experiences without worrying about semantic analysis or context processing.” Flybits’ platform gives real-time information about what your audience is doing right now on their mobile device (smartphones, tablets, wearables, IoT), which in-turn gives your business more power to effectively respond to its changing needs. Flybits states that they want to help you “find you when you need it rather than asking you to go searching for it.”
“We’ve enjoyed an excellent partnership with Vodafone since beginning an incubation project with them almost two years ago,” said Dr. Hossein Rahnama, Founder and Chief Product Officer of Flybits. “They helped us make our product carrier-grade, and this investment will allow us to leverage their presence in more than 21 countries. With the support of our strategic investors, Bosch and Vodafone, our plan is to become the leading platform for companies to develop and deliver intelligent and context-aware mobility solutions.”
Flybits technology has actively being used in developing “smarter cities,” specifically with its partnership with the City of Ottawa’s Ottawa Nav app. In addition, the company has also embedded its tech inside stadiums, corporate campuses, shopping malls, conference venues and fashion shows.