PLDT Capital in $10M joint venture with US tech firm Phunware

Phunware apps

PLDT Capital, the newly formed investment arm of Philippine telco giant PLDT, announced today it has invested US$10 million in a joint venture with US mobile services and applications company Phunware.

The JV “will enable PLDT’s subsidiary ePLDT to market and exclusively distribute Phunware’s targeted mobile and multiscreen solutions in Southeast Asia,” PLDT Capital said in a statement.

Launched in 2009, Phunware pioneered the concept of mobile-as-a-service by building apps and mobile strategies that corporations use to engage with customers. These include indoor and outdoor location-based marketing and advertising, content management, notifications and analytics, and indoor mapping and navigation.

The company currently supports more than 500 million monthly unique users globally on its platform, which includes branded application portfolios and infrastructure for hundreds of enterprise customers across more than 40 billion indoor and outdoor events.

Among Phunware’s customers are CBS Interactive, NBC Sports, Dignity Health, GameStop, Mandarin Oriental, and WWE.

“The partnership of PLDT and Phunware will also enable our corporate and SME (small and medium enterprise) clients to address the growing needs and appetites of their digital consumers,” said Winston Damarillo, managing director of PLDT Capital and chief strategy officer of PLDT.

The deal follows the launch of PLDT Capital, which allotted US$50 million for global investments this year.

See: Philippines’ PLDT launches VC that eyes Silicon Valley, global investments