WhatsApp now available for download for smart feature phones with either 512MB or 256MB RAM that run on KaiOS, and expected to be preloaded on all such phones by Q3. - HMD
Smart feature phone operating system maker KaiOS Technologies looks to expand into new markets and grow its developer community after receiving US$50mil (RM209mil) in a round of funding.
KaiOS Technologies chief executive officer Sebastien Codeville says the funding will also go into research and development, growing its team of 260 staff, and to mature the KaiOS ecosystem.
The Series B funding round was led by Cathay Innovation, with continued participation from KaiOS Technologies' existing shareholders Google and TCL Holdings.
Codeville says the company’s mission is to open up new possibilities by bringing mobile connectivity to the billions of people without Internet in emerging markets and providing an alternative to smartphones in established markets.
“This Series B round allows us to accelerate these efforts and increase the impact we can make in societies around the world, one phone at a time,” he said, in a press release.
So far, more than 100 million devices running on KaiOS have been shipped by brands such as Nokia, Alcatel and Jio.
A recent Counterpoint study reports a rise in demand for smart feature phones, with the segment accounting for nearly one-quarter of all handset shipments by the third quarter of last year, and presenting a US$28bil (RM117bil) market opportunity in the coming three years.
Codeville says KaiOS Technologies aims to transition a substantial portion of the 1.5 billion feature phone users to smart feature phones.
While Google’s Android and Apple's iOS remain the dominant operating systems on smartphones, KaiOS is gaining traction because it allows cheaper phones to use apps, albeit lite versions.
Smart feature phones typically have access to messengers like WhatsApp, Google's suite of applications such as Google Assistant, Maps and Search, and even Facebook.
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