Acision, a global leader in mobile data services, has secured a big round of funding, to the tune of $100 million. The investment was led by existing shareholders Access Industries (founded by Russian-American businessman Len Blavatnik, one of the wealthiest persons in the world), with funding also provided by co-shareholders International Investment and Underwriting and Atlantic Bridge.
In case you’re not familiar with Acision, it’s a privately held mobile communications network infrastructure company that specializes in mobile messaging and charging systems that enable services such as SMS, MMS, mobile internet browsing, mobile broadband and voicemail.
The company boasts over 1,600 employees around the globe, serves 230 customers (including eight out of the top 10 mobile operators in the world) and claims it delivers close to a trillion SMS messages every year.
Acision says it will use this additional funding to capitalize on the exponential growth in mobile data, spurred by devices like the iPhone, iPad and Android smartphones and other portable devices. The company cites research that predicts a 39-fold increase in global mobile data traffic from 2009 to 2014.
Basil Geoghegan, Acision’s newly hired corporate development officer, told MoneyControl that the bulk of the funds would be used to fund acquisitions, partnerships, and capital expenditure agreements.
Likely, the company will go public at some point in the next few years.