Helium’s LongFi wireless network isn’t powered by big mobile carriers, but rather distributed node operators creating a blanket of coverage for Internet of things (IoT) devices in locations around the world. And they’re earning crypto token rewards all the while.
Now the crypto-powered network has some major backers onboard as part of a new $111 million funding round announced today. Venture capital giant Andreessen Horowitz’s crypto fund led the funding round, which also featured participation from Alameda Research, Ribbit Capital, 10T Holdings, and Multicoin Capital.
Helium first launched with its network for IoT devices, which now has 112,000 user-run hotspots live on the network, which is active in more than 11,000 cities worldwide. According to the company, more than 500,000 additional hotspot nodes are backordered from various authorized Helium hardware manufacturers. Helium has quadrupled the size of its network in just over three months—there were 28,000 nodes online in late April.
