Pente Networks Announces $10 Million Series A, Names Avi Cohen CEO

Originally posted on IoT Evolution

Even in a year that has seen a dramatic drop in venture funding, Pente Networks, developer of IT-centric enterprise LTE/5G solutions for service providers and their end customers, announced it has completed a $10 million Series A funding round.

Pente is a pioneer in the development of mobile core and orchestration layer solutions, with headquarters in the US and Israel, and R&D centers in India and Eastern Europe. Its approach has been to simplify the process of spinning up cellular enterprise networks, working with a growing partner ecosystem, and selling through channels including system integrators, service providers, and equipment manufacturers.

The round was led by INCapital Ventures, with the participation of their existing investor Magma Ventures, and Global Brain.

The new capital follows a seed round and brings Pente’s total investment to date to over $15 million. The company also announced it has established a North American headquarters in Hackensack, New Jersey, and is expanding its original headquarters in Israel.

Avi Cohen has joined the company as Chief Executive Officer, after co-founding and driving the growth of LiveU, where he most recently served as Chief Operating Officer. LiveU grew from a start-up established in 2006 to a global leader in the IoT live video streaming for TV, mobile, online, and social media content with more than 5,000 customers in over 150 countries.

“Given the success of our solution, the quality of the leadership team, the rapid growth of our global partner ecosystem, the demand forecast by industry experts and analysts, and the support of our board, Pente is positioned to expand and leverage the rapid growth and demand from customers the company is experiencing,” Cohen said. “I am truly honored and excited to join an amazing crew whose vision, determination, and talents will continue to drive a bigger and more meaningful business.”

Working with MVNOs, WISPs, MSPs, and SIs, Pente has been augmenting and replacing traditional enterprise networks with simplified, ultra-fast, and ultra-secure wireless broadband solutions, including CBRS as the use of unlicensed spectrum becomes more readily available.

The company says it will use the new capital to continue to develop its core technology dev team in Israel, expanding its facilities there while focusing on strategy, business development, customer success, sales, and marketing in the U.S., given its successes in the North American region.

“We are excited to back Pente Networks and support the company’s rapid growth,” said Inbar Haham, Co-Founder and Managing Partner at INcapital Ventures “Pente’s deep technology solutions are impressive, successfully filling a need in the market for user-friendly 5G private networks. We have high confidence in the leadership team of Pente and their ability to drive the company forward to market leadership position.”

“Pente’s potential is limitless as enterprises continue to select private cellular networking in an increasingly 5G world,” said Naoki Kamimaeda, Partner and Europe Division Head, Global Brain. “Given the leadership team’s experience, talent, and commitment, and the benefits of Pente’s software-based solution, we are confident Pente will continue to attract world-class partners, system integrators, and distributors and look forward to helping them accelerate growth in Asia, Europe, and North America.”

The company is actively recruiting talented sales, pre-sales engineering, customer success, and marketing professionals based in the U.S., while also deepening its ecosystem of technology, integration, and sales channel partners.

In addition to Cohen being named CEO, Jonathan Schwartz has been named Chief Technical Officer, a role he has been playing since the inception of the company. Roy Timor-Rousso has been named Chief Marketing Officer, driving many of the company’s strategies in the Americas, including Latin America, as well as in Europe, Asia, and other regions.