Cyanogen Receives $80 Million Cash Infusion To Challenge iOS And Android
Cyanogen has 80 million reasons to celebrate to today. The open source Android startup just completed an $80 million Series C funding round with backing from several strategic partners. Not wasting any time, the Cyanogen team is already thinking about ways to leverage its influx of cash, which will include hiring new talent and accelerating the development of its open OS platform.
Financing was led by Premji Invest but also included participation from Twitter Ventures, Qualcomm Incorporated, Telefonica Ventures, Smartfren Telecom, Index Ventures, Access Industries, Rupert Murdoch (CEO of News Corporation, the second-largest media conglomerate in the world), Vivi Nevo, and several others that have yet to be announced.
Several existing investors also got in on the action, including Benchmark, Andreessen Horowitz, Redpopint Ventures, and Tencent Holdings.
"We're committed to creating an open computing platform that fundamentally empowers the entire mobile ecosystem from developers to hardware makers, and most importantly, consumers around the world," said Kirt McMaster, CEO of Cyanogen Inc. "We're excited to have the backing of an amazingly diverse group of strategic investors who are supporting us in building a truly open Android."
Cyanogen's excitement is evidently contagious. With this latest round of funding, the company has brought in $110 million to date, enough to give itself the financial freedom to see this project through in a more timely fashion.
What's unique about Cyanogen's custom Android build is that it doesn't include all of Google's baked-in services. In order to run Android, device makers are required to pre-install certain apps, such as YouTube and Gmail. But with Cyanogen, no such restriction exists.
Financing was led by Premji Invest but also included participation from Twitter Ventures, Qualcomm Incorporated, Telefonica Ventures, Smartfren Telecom, Index Ventures, Access Industries, Rupert Murdoch (CEO of News Corporation, the second-largest media conglomerate in the world), Vivi Nevo, and several others that have yet to be announced.
Several existing investors also got in on the action, including Benchmark, Andreessen Horowitz, Redpopint Ventures, and Tencent Holdings.
"We're committed to creating an open computing platform that fundamentally empowers the entire mobile ecosystem from developers to hardware makers, and most importantly, consumers around the world," said Kirt McMaster, CEO of Cyanogen Inc. "We're excited to have the backing of an amazingly diverse group of strategic investors who are supporting us in building a truly open Android."
Cyanogen's excitement is evidently contagious. With this latest round of funding, the company has brought in $110 million to date, enough to give itself the financial freedom to see this project through in a more timely fashion.
What's unique about Cyanogen's custom Android build is that it doesn't include all of Google's baked-in services. In order to run Android, device makers are required to pre-install certain apps, such as YouTube and Gmail. But with Cyanogen, no such restriction exists.
