Startup raises $72m in series A to engineer world’s first high-end smartphone

Photo credit: StockSnap.

Israeli startup Sirin Labs announced today that it has closed a series A funding round worth US$72 million. Investors in this round include Kazakh businessman Kenges Rakishev, venture capitalist Moshe Hogeg, former McKinsey consultant Tal Cohen, and Chinese firm RenRen.

Sirin Labs’ vision is to create a futuristic smartphone that is more secure, private, and technologically advanced than any other phones available in the market today. Its product, and flagship store, will launch in London in May.

The project is undoubtedly ambitious and it remains to be seen whether consumers will give up their beloved iPhones to buy this one instead. Market research firm IDC predicts smartphone growth to drop to single digits in 2016, after years of dizzying expansion. This isn’t particularly good news for any newcomers in the space as well-funded brands like Apple, Samsung, and Huawei fight tooth and nail for the loyalty of their users.

US$72 million sounds like a lot of money for a startup to raise in a single funding round, but it’s going to be competing with global companies with extremely deep pockets. To give you an idea of the hurdles Sirin might face, it was reported that Samsung spent US$14 billion in advertisements and marketing campaigns for its Galaxy range of smartphones in 2013 alone.

Sirin Labs’ Tal Cohen

Tech in Asia inquired about the technical specifications of the phone, as well as pricing details, but the company declined to answer. All it said was that it would operate on Android and that it is aimed at the “global high-end market.”

Sirin Labs has, however, spent almost three years in research and development before finally settling on a working prototype that it plans on introducing to the public. This is its first product so it remains to be seen whether the phone will deliver.

Sirin Labs’ team says that during the course of the research, it was surprised to find that there aren’t actually any high-end phones – what is considered high-end just has a gold or diamond cover, but the tech and experience is the same as other smartphones.

“Blackberry has strong security, for example, but there was nothing to provide a true high-end solution and experience and that’s where Sirin comes in,” they add.

The research and development team is led by Fredrik Oijer, former product director of Sony Mobile. It has two dedicated research centers – one in Tel Aviv and another in Sweden.

“Unlike mainstream technology companies where price is paramount, Sirin Labs doesn’t need to wait a couple of years before bringing the most advanced technology to its customers. We can offer them tomorrow’s technology, today. Cost doesn’t influence our decision making; optimal functionality and quality do,” says Tal Cohen, CEO of Sirin Labs in an emailed statement.