Detroit Venture Partners Invests in Highway 9 Network’s Mobile Cloud Network

Detroit Venture Partnerss, started by Rocket Cos. founder Dan Gilbert, has invested in Highway 9 Networks’ cloud delivery mobility services.
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Stock photo of computer cloud
Detroit Venture Partners invested in the development of a new mobile cloud information system by Mobile 9 Networks. // Stock photo

Detroit Venture Partners, started by Rocket Cos. founder Dan Gilbert, has invested in Highway 9 Networks’ cloud delivery mobility services.

Highway 9 Networks is a cloud and networking developer based in Santa Clara, Calif. It was founded by people from VMware in Palo Alto, Calif.

The Highway 9 Mobile Cloud system is engineered to enable voice and data coverage everywhere, providing reliable and high-performance mobile connectivity for AI-driven use in robotics, factory automation, and drones as well as mobile data access for apps and communications.

With the proliferation of mobile phones, tablets, and an increasingly hybrid work force, there is a demand for consistent mobile coverage across indoor, outdoor, and campus environments, says Allwyn Sequeira, founder and CEO of Highway 9 Networks.

Today’s fixed wireless solutions do not adequately address the mobility, resiliency, and predictable, low-latency performance requirements needed by the growing number of mobile-first use cases. And Distributed Antenna Systems (DAS), which were the primary tool to extend carrier cellular networks cannot meet the exploding demands in this area.

Several advances in private mobile technology, including the availability of free spectrum, multi-eSIM support, and private 5G, make it possible to address these needs, says Sequeira. Highway 9 Networks has used these technology advances and combined them with a set of cloud-based mobile services to build its mobile cloud.

The Highway 9 Mobile Cloud was designed to enable smart phones, tablets, computers, new AI-driven devices, and the proliferation of next gen Internet of Things (IoT) to interconnect with apps, data, and each other, as well as cloud services.

According to Sequeria, it addresses the key requirements of “cleanly integrating into existing IT infrastructure and security policies” while operating across mobile service providers to automate and lifecycle manage the full mobile stack.

“We created a mobile cloud for the enterprise, building on the superior range, mobility, resiliency, predictability, and low-latency characteristics of private cellular technology, and coupled it with a fully cloud-native platform,” says Sequeira. “The Highway 9 Mobile Cloud delivers the always-on, performant mobile network needed for private mobility and modern AI-aware systems, regardless of whether they are indoors, outdoor, campus-wide or beyond.”

This is important because during the last decade many servers and apps moved to the public cloud.

“We believe the next decade will see the migration of mobile and AI clients and devices to the mobile cloud, unleashing a whole new wave of innovation,” says Sequeria.

Highway 9 Mobile Cloud is meant to simplify and automate the deployment and operation of private mobile networks. Its cloud-based model and fully integrated set of mobile services should enable a much faster rollout of mobile connectivity versus traditional telco-focused mobile equipment.

Highway 9 Mobile Cloud provides end-to-end visibility and maintains an IT team’s centralized control and policies. Capabilities include uniform connectivity, control, and orchestration of mobile devices organization-wide, as well as a full stack of mobile services including SIM, SAS, radio, packet core, orchestration, and life cycle management.

Sequeria says key benefits are simplified cloud-based operations and a familiar model for enterprise IT teams as well as faster time-to-service and time-to-value and lower total cost of ownership (TCO) versus traditional Wi-Fi deployments.

Fueling the company’s launch is more than $25 million of funding from investors including Detroit Venture Partners, Mayfield in Menlo Park, Calif., and General Catalyst in Cambridge, Mass.