Richardson-based Mavenir, a provider of cloud-native network software for the wireless industry, has signed an agreement with Koch Strategic Platforms, a subsidiary of Koch Investments Group, to receive a $500 million minority equity investment.
With the deal, affiliates of Siris Capital Group LLC, a tech-focused private equity firm, will remain majority equity holders.
“We’re taking material minority equity positions in innovative, disruptive companies with strong management teams that operate in industries with significant tailwinds,” David Park, president of KSP, said in a statement. “We want to partner with companies that can transform Koch Industries for the future. Mavenir checks all the boxes.”
Mavenir bills itself as the only company in the country to provide end-to-end, cloud-native software that meets the demand for 5G digital transformation by communication service providers and enterprises. Its next-generation software platform drives the digital transformation of mission-critical networks, accelerating software network transformation for 250-plus Communications Service Providers in more than 120 countries.
Overall, Mavenir aims to be the lead disruptor in opening up the telecom industry to more competition. The team wants to pave a highway to faster advancements: It has some 550 patents, and invests “quite a bit” in OpenRAN development.
So, what’s the big deal about OpenRAN? According to Mavenir CEO Pardeep Kohli, it provides interoperability, opening the innovation pipeline by allowing many different vendors to play a role in 5G. Unlike a traditional radio access network (RAN) that tightly couples hardware and software—often from a single supplier—OpenRAN allows competition. It promises to speed up network development and lower costs.
In November, Mavenir was selected by DISH Network to deliver 5G nationwide. The company aims to bring multiple applications at a lower cost through virtualization. Its next-gen flexible Radio Access Network, or RAN, has also drawn the attention of Intel.
“People still think OpenRAN is many years away, but it’s coming fast,” Kohli previously told Dallas Innovates. “DISH is launching in a lot of areas, and we’re already deploying it in several other countries.”
KSP says it was a “natural partner” for these 5G transformational efforts. The firm focuses on growth equity in four sectors: computing and connectivity, industrial automation, energy transformation, and healthcare.
With Mavenir, the team intends to be a partner that goes beyond a capital investment. KSP will leverage the capabilities of Koch Industries, a Wichita, Kansas-based multinational corporation, to accelerate growth and drive innovation.
Koch Industries has subsidiaries in refining, chemicals, and biofuels; forest and consumer products; fertilizers; polymers and fibers; process and pollution control systems; electronics, software, and data analytics; minerals; glass; automotive components; and more.
According to Hubert de Pesquidoux, the executive chairman for Mavenir and executive partner at Siris, Koch Industries’ presence in a variety of relevant industry verticals will accelerate Mavenir’s opportunity for massive digital transformation.
The company has come a long way since it was founded in 2005 by President and CEO Pardeep Kohli and serial mobile tech entrepreneur Rashad Ali, now founder and COO of Ingage.ai.
Voted the most powerful person in wireless for 2020 by Fierce Wireless, Kohli aims to level the playing field for more players and place Mavenir on the leading edge of next-gen communications.
Mavenir’s Pardeep Kohli
“Together with KSP and our service provider customers, we expect to bring innovation and 5G to revolutionize industries such as energy, industrial automation, and health care,” he said in a statement. “Not only do we have the only end-to-end, cloud-native, 5G software platform in the world, but we also have strong and extensive relationships with CSPs and proven deployments of our technology around the globe.
“With 5G here, Mavenir is well positioned to build the future of networks.”
Alex Edwards and Sandra Engelland contributed to this report.
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