Triple Point Venture Fund has led a £1.3m investment into Augnet, the London-based technology start-up aiming to revolutionise the SMS and messaging space.
Triple Point has invested in Augnet alongside a number of industry experts and investors. The funds will be used by Augnet to further develop the platform, support the testing stage and invest in its sales and marketing channels.
Augnet told GBI Magazine that is has developed a unique technology that enables SMS messages to be tracked and ensures a 100% delivery rate through a patent-protected, encrypted solution. This means that for the first time, it will be possible to audit and trace SMS delivery historically and in real-time, enabling the growing number of ‘killed’ messages – those that are not actually sent to users in order to increase operator profit margins – to be tracked.
Augnet’s technology facilitates the delivery of SMS messages from consumer-focused organisations to reduce fraud, increase accountability and improve SMS marketing features. The company caters to an established network of organisations, from financial institutions to booking sites and airlines.
The Augnet management team is led by founder and CEO, Daniel Gill, a former Senior Manager of Business Development and Evangelism at Skype with 20 years’ telecoms experience who also brings experience as an angel investor and board adviser to a number of start-up businesses. COO Jekaterina Orlova brings commercial and management consultant experience from Skype and Deloitte and the FinTech sector, where she specialised in cloud services, and digital workplace transformation projects.
Gill said: “We are very excited to be working with Triple Point. Gaining a partnership with them at this early stage is a strong endorsement of our model.
“Augnet is well placed to work with some of the largest technology companies in the world in the near future. At just one-year-old, we are pleased to have achieved recognition from such a highly respected VC. Triple Point, which has already proven itself to be a valuable partner, focuses on opportunities that solve problems for established companies, and so is a perfect fit with Augnet.
“Apart from the important investment that Triple Point has made, its highly knowledgeable industry experts have given us hugely valuable advice and have introduced us to a range of tech entrepreneurs and investors who are supporting us on a number of levels.
“We believe that with Triple Point backing and guidance, we are well placed to achieve our high-growth plans at speed and reach our full potential in the global marketplace.”
Ian McLennan, Head of Venture at Triple Point, added: “The average consumer knows SMS as a simple, quick way to send messages. High open rates offer companies growing possibilities to use this platform. By increasing accountability and efficiency in the delivery of SMS messages, Augnet is in a strong position to help large corporates solve the significant challenge they face in targeting consumers via SMS technology. We look forward to working with Daniel and Augnet’s other investors to help realise this potential.”
