SmartSky Investco lands $32M for in flight WiFi

MORRISVILLE – SmartSky Investco, which plans to deploy a next generation, faster, high-capacity in-flight WiFi system later this year, has raised $26.9 million in equity and debt according to a regulatory filing.

The company said in a statement that it raised a total of $32 million in the equity/debt round.

The company raised more than $41 million in June. It landed a whopping $104 million in a 2019 raise. It was awarded about $2 million in a Paycheck Protection Program loan. It raised a total of more than $400 million since 2012.

“In a display of confidence in the future of SmartSky’s groundbreaking technology and services, we received new funds from our institutional investors,” said SmartSky CEO David Helfgott announcing the raise.

SmartSky’s office-grade inflight Wi-Fi service for business and commercial aviation uses its uniquely scalable, single-beam-per-aircraft approach, which is backed by a substantial patent portfolio and years of flight testing.

The company said it is enabling advanced new applications through Skytelligence®, its digital innovation platform, to improve safety and efficiency while providing the industry with new ancillary revenue sources.

RTP-based SmartSky lands $41M, wants $74M more ahead of air-to-ground network launch

Founded in 2011, SmartSky evolved from co-founder Ryan Jones’ first startup. Previously called Jetpool Ventures, it moved from Charlotte to the Triangle from Charlotte.

In 2019, the Federal Aviation Administration approved the SmartSky 4G LTE system. SmartSky claims the technology will make in-flight internet faster while lowering costs.

According to its website, SmartSky has been granted 170 patents and has 90 pending. SmartSky says its air-to-ground (ATG) Wi-Fi network for aviation delivers unprecedented speed and capacity, creating a best-in-class experience that allows users to do everything in the air that they take for granted on the ground.

The company has about 100 employees and reports say its planned deployment of its network, delayed by the pandemic, is expected this summer.