Philippine venture capital investor Kickstart Ventures has made a $2-million strategic investment in Transcelestial, a Singapore-headquartered internet connectivity provider.
The investment was made through Kickstart’s Ayala Corporation Technology Innovation (ACTIVE) Fund, the $180-million fund backed by Ayala Corporation, with several of its subsidiaries participating, namely AC Energy, AC Industrials, AC Ventures, BPI, and Kickstart’s parent company, Globe Telecom.
The amount raised by Ayala Corporation and its subsidiaries for the Active Fund is 20 per cent more than the initial $150-million target announced by Ayala chairman Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala at the time of the fund’s launch in April 2019.
The fund seeks to invest in Series A to D startups globally and has four investment themes focused on the future of transactions and transfers, work and human capital, resource allocation and availability, and property, homes, and community life.
“The team at Kickstart has been fully aligned with our goals of solving the last mile and global bottlenecks in internet distribution. We could not have asked for a better partner to help us not only work with Globe in Philippines but also advise us on bringing our current and future products to solve some of the challenges in the archipelago nation.”, said Rohit Jha, CEO of Transcelestial.
CENTAURI is Transcelestial’s mass-produced network device which leverages their proprietary Wireless Laser Communication Technology to create a wireless distribution network between buildings, traditional cell towers, street-level poles, and other physical infrastructure.
For the ACTIVE Fund and its stakeholders, “The Frictionless Future” is one with improved digital access to goods, services, and information, said Kickstart Ventures president Minette Navarrete.
“As more Filipinos become reliant on internet access for their livelihood and social connections, we’re hopeful that Transcelestial will help increase Internet penetration and provide telcos and ISPs with an affordable option for 5G deployment,” Navarrete added. – BusinessNews.ph
