HMD Global, the Finnish company that took over the Nokia mobile brand after it failed in Microsoft's hands, announced today that it has raised 230 million dollars (195.4 million euros) from strategic investors. Although the company has not revealed the identity of these, it has confirmed, after some leaks, that Google and Qualcomm are two of them. The financing round, which has also had the participation of Nokia Technologies, is one of the largest closed so far this year in Europe, according to PitchBook.
The company explains in a statement that the funds obtained will allow them to accelerate the arrival of smartphones with 5G technology "that are accessible to consumers around the world", partnering with solid US companies; expand its presence in growing markets (including Brazil, Africa and India, where the firm recently entered; continue the transition to post-Covid digitization offerings, and strengthen its position beyond hardware and become a comprehensive mobile service provider.
The company recalls, in this regard, that this year it already launched an international data roaming service (HMD Connect), improved its mobile cybersecurity capabilities with the acquisition of Valona Labs assets, and has resources dedicated to software, security and services at a new R&D center of excellence in Tampere (Finland).
HMD Global CEO Florian Seiche says "from the beginning they have worked to build strong ties with our strategic partners. This additional investment further validates our long-term business strategy and is proof of our collective mission to make the modern mobile technology is accessible to all. " "We hope to use these funds to offer the best experiences that people expect from a Nokia phone," adds the manager, who defines his company as "the only major European manufacturer of smartphones."
The company, which started up in 2016, is already present in 91 markets and has 250,000 points of sale. To date, it has sold more than 240 million phones. HMD Global, which like many other mobile manufacturers have seen their sales fall due to the coronavirus, hopes to take advantage of the broken relations between Google and Huawei, after Donald Trump's veto of the Chinese giant, and it is also logical to think that Google seeks to promote a manufacturer mobile phone that uses its Android operating system and its services in the middle of the trade war between the United States and China. And the same goes for Qualcomm, which has complained to the US government that the ban on supplying chips to Huawei will mean a significant drop in sales.