Finnish phone maker, HMD Global, announced that it has raised $230 million from some strategic investors including Google, Qualcomm and Nokia.
According to the company, “The investment will further fuel HMD Global’s strategic vision in four key areas:
Firstly, it will accelerate the company’s mission to make 5G smartphones accessible to consumers across the world, with an emphasis on strong partnerships with US carriers. “
“Secondly, HMD Global will further transition to digital-first offerings as part of a new post-COVID reality. It will also expand its presence in key growth markets including the recently introduced operations in Brazil, as well as Africa and India, and finally – the investment will help the business strengthen its leading position beyond just hardware and into a holistic mobile service provider.”
“This year alone, HMD Global launched its international data roaming service, HMD Connect, enhanced its mobile cybersecurity 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.”
Jean-Francois Baril, Executive Chairman and Co-Founder, HMD Global, says:
“Our unique business model, based on asset-light global deployment and strong partnerships with the best in the industry, is entering a new level of maturity with the valued support of some of the most influential market-makers in mobile devices. I am extremely proud of our significant achievements to date and also thrilled about the immense opportunity before us to accelerate our journey towards excellence.”
Florian Seiche, CEO, HMD Global, says:
“Since the very beginning, HMD Global has worked to build strong bonds with our strategic partners. This additional investment further validates our long-term business strategy and is evidence of our collective mission to make modern mobile technology accessible to everyone. Security, reliability and dependability are the cornerstones of our offering and we will ensure we are using these funds to deliver the best experiences people have come to expect from a Nokia phone. As the only major European smartphone manufacturer, we remain true to our Finnish roots and the hallmarks that our customers trust Nokia phones to be synonymous with. With the support of our heavyweight partners, I am truly excited for the next chapter of Nokia phones.”
HMD Global began operations in 2016 and it entered a strategic agreement with Nokia covering branding rights and intellectual property licensing to enable the company create Nokia-branded mobile phones and tablets for the next ten years. It is now active in 91 markets across 8 regions and 250,000 retail outlets and has sold over 240 million phones to date.
