US Mobile Platform Leader Phunware Announces Strategic Investment from PLDT Capital for Next-Gen Mobile Customer Engagement Solutions
Austin, TX (PRWEB) October 07, 2015 -- Today Phunware announced that it has entered into a joint venture with Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company (“PLDT”) (PSE: TEL) (NYSE: PHI), through PLDT Capital. Phunware's integrated applications platform enables companies to engage and manage relationships with their customers worldwide: anytime, anywhere, on any device.
The new partnership involves a total investment of $10 million that will enable PLDT’s subsidiary, ePLDT, to market and exclusively distribute Phunware’s targeted mobile and multiscreen solutions in Southeast Asia.
Through its pioneering Multiscreen as a Service (MaaS) platform, Phunware gives companies everything they need to engage seamlessly with their customers through mobile devices, from indoor and outdoor location-based marketing and advertising to content management, notifications and analytics, to indoor mapping, navigation and wayfinding.
“Filipino and ASEAN consumers are among the most engaged users of mobile and digital services in the world,” said Winston Damarillo, Managing Director of PLDT Capital and Chief Strategy Officer of PLDT. “We see mobile phones as an essential part of our daily lives and expect new experiences to pique our digital curiosity.”
“The partnership of the PLDT Group and Phunware will also enable our corporate and SME clients to address the growing needs and appetites of their digital consumers,” Damarillo added.
Phunware currently supports more than 500 million monthly unique users globally on its multiscreen cloud platform, including branded application portfolios and infrastructure for hundreds of enterprise customers across more than 40 billion indoor and outdoor user events.
Phunware’s impressive list of top-tier customers includes CBS Interactive, NBC Sports, Dignity Health, GameStop, Mandarin Oriental and WWE among many others.
Highlighting the value of Phunware's partnership with PLDT, Phunware Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder Alan S. Knitowski said, “With more than 70 million subscribers, PLDT instantly provides a large base of audiences and communities that will enjoy new and unprecedented levels of real-time engagement both indoors and outdoors across their favorite brands and venues. At the same time, we look forward to expanding PLDT’s product portfolio.”
ePLDT CEO and PLDT EVP Eric Alberto said the joint venture will provide an edge for companies that do business in retail, travel, hospitality and real estate.
“ePLDT is constantly seeking ways to provide strategic digital advantages for our customers,” he said. “Phunware’s market ready solutions - together with our other digital solution sets in the domains of Data Center, Cloud and Big Data - will enable ePLDT to accelerate the ongoing digital transformation of large enterprises and small and medium-sized businesses.”
ePLDT-Phunware services are set to launch within the next 90 days.
About PLDT
PLDT is the leading telecommunications service provider in the Philippines. Through its principal business groups – fixed line, wireless and others – PLDT offers a wide range of telecommunications services across the Philippines’ most extensive fiber optic backbone and fixed line and cellular networks.
PLDT is listed on the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE:TEL) and its American Depositary Shares are listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE:PHI). PLDT has one of the largest market capitalizations among Philippine-listed companies.
About Phunware
Founded in 2009 and headquartered in Austin, Texas, Phunware has a horizontal customer engagement platform, a vertical solutions catalog and the multiscreen services that support them both. It has introduced category-defining experiences for the world’s most respected brands across industries including healthcare, travel, retail, media and entertainment, sports, luxury residential, live events and more. It is a two-time honoree on the Forbes list of America’s Most Promising Companies and a three-time honoree on both the Inc. 500 list of America’s Fastest Growing Companies and the Austin Business Journal Fast50 list for Central Texas. For more information, please visit http://www.phunware.com and follow @Phunware on Twitter.
Emily Reynolds, Phunware, Inc., http://www.phunware.com, +1 (210) 621-4865, [email protected]
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