HMD Global which controls the Nokia phone brand has announced that it has been able to amass $230 million in a “series A2” round of funding from some of its existing strategic partners. The partners include Google, Qualcomm, as well the Nokia’s consumer division. Some of the investors were not named.
The Finnish company reportedly disclosed that the new funding is the first phase of a drive which could see the company receive further funds from investors in the near future.
The company through a spokesperson equally affirmed that the HMD Global brand is no valued more than $1 billion. This is an indication of the profitability of HMD Global’s drive to revive the Nokia brand which saw it launch its first Nokia-branded phone in 2016 or thereabout. Even though Nokia has divested from consumer devices, the brand still has a large following built by years of offering quality products especially feature phones. HMD has been able to replicate the quality with several durable and impressive smartphones under its belt
HMD Global is looking to expand its market share and recently launched its first 5G phone – the Nokia 8.3. This fresh investment of $230 million will help the company to “accelerate” its mission to make 5G smartphones accessible to more consumers globally. The company hopes to achieve this by enacting more alliances with U.S. carriers and building on existing partnerships with US carriers such as Verizon, Cricket Wireless, and AT&T that kicked off last year.
The Nokia smartphone brand present commands a market share of around 1%, recent report by market research firm Counterpoint shows. Nokia is ranked at the 13th spot among vendors in the global market which is not really profitable. It is hoped that the brand will invest in R&D as well as ways to expand its market presence.
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