Helium is a blockchain network of wifi hotspots that support internet of things (IoT) devices such as GPS trackers, pet trackers, air quality sensors and e-scooters. It isn’t a typical wifi network for mobile phones. Instead, the hotspots use LoRaWAN technology which can work for miles. A year ago, it was estimated that there were 178 million compatible IoT devices around the world. The Helium network already has more than 680,000 hotspots worldwide, which has increased from 240,000 in just five months. At the start of 2021, there were just 10,000 hotspots.

Users invest in a wifi hotspot device that can cost between $500 and $1,000, which they connect to their home internet network. They earn cryptocurrency by enabling data traffic and also securing the network. But it’s not necessarily profitable for everyone. Helium’s token currently has a market capitalization of $2.6 billion.

The network also supports telecom roaming for LoRaWAN and is rolling out 5G, for which it has partnered with the Nasdaq-listed DISH network.

Telecoms and IoT blockchain startup Helium Inc. had two new announcements. First, Helium Inc. has been renamed Nova Labs.

Second announcement, Nova Labs has received a $200M Series D equity round from a group of incredibly diverse and strategic investors led by Tiger Global and Andreessen Horowitz, with support from Seven Seven Six, Kingsway Capital, Goodyear Ventures, GV (formerly Google Ventures), Liberty Global (Vodafone and Virgin Media), NGP Capital (backed by Nokia), Pantera Capital, Ribbit Capital, and Deutsche Telekom’s strategic investment fund, Telekom Innovation Pool (TIP).

The funding will enable Nova Labs to invest in the Helium ecosystem through hiring additional development resources, accelerating continued wireless protocol support, and building new applications on top of the Helium Network.

The company said it is grateful to receive overwhelming support from industry leaders who are just as excited as they are about the possibilities of decentralized wireless networks powered by crypto incentives.

In October, DISH opened the door by becoming the first major carrier to utilize the Helium Network’s crypto incentive model. Today, telecommunications companies like Deutsche Telekom, Liberty Global, NGP Capital back Nova Labs as investors.

The growth of the Helium Network over the past year has also caught the attention of companies like Senet, Actility, and X-Telia, who have joined the ecosystem as roaming partners with customers such as Cisco and Volvo. Today, one of the world’s largest tire manufacturers, Goodyear, joins as a strategic investor and partner of Nova Labs to explore the possibilities of connected mobility and transportation on the Helium Network. These strategic partnerships bring unprecedented usage opportunities by connecting large-scale deployments of new devices and applications on a network powered by people.

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