IoT Startup Actility Raises $75 Million

European Internet of Things (IoT) startup Actility has raised a juicy USD 75 million in a fresh round of funding, bringing the total it has now received to more than USD 100 million. The company's Thingpark platform provides back-office functionality for a range of low-power, wide-area network (LPWAN) technologies, including LoRa, LTE-M and NB-IoT, and is used by telcos including France's Orange and Dutch incumbent KPN Telecom NV, both of which are among the company's investors.

Actility CEO Mike Mulica said the company would use funds to speed up its expansion, particularly in the US and China, and also raised the prospect of acquisitions. The latest funding round attracted private equity firm Creadev, appliances manufacturer Bosch and satellite operator Inmarsat plc as new investors, and may be an endorsement of the LPWAN technologies in Actility's mix as well as the company itself. Mulica has previously been extremely dismissive of a rival LPWAN technology developed by France's Sigfox , arguing that its approach of acting as a "global operator" is off-putting to partners. Read more on Light Reading.