Last week ComfortWay, a Russian startup developing a “Virtual SIM Card” project, announced that it has agreed a €6 million investment in several tranches with a pool of European telecom companies and individual investors. Neither the identity of the investors nor the terms of the transaction can be disclosed, the startup’s CEO Oleg Pravdin told East-West Digital News.
ComfortWay aims to “disrupt the telecom market” by providing direct access to mobile operators at local prices in more than 100 countries. Scheduled for launch this spring, the “Virtual SIM Card” will allow mobile users to select a data plan from any local mobile operator in one click. The offer is intended for tourists and business travellers who purchase local prepaid SIM-cards when arriving in another country.
ComfortWay’s technology allows to download local mobile subscriptions “over-the-air,” in line with the latest market trends.
“The global market is ready for this next-generation SIM cards, or embedded SIM chips. Such big vendors as Apple and Microsoft have already announced their own solutions in this field, but they are based on proprietary technologies. The ComfortWay technology meets the newest telecom standards approved by [global mobile operator association] GSMA,” Pravdin told EWDN.
Pravdin says that his company has already signed agreements with a variety of partners, including MVNOs, manufacturers and resellers of mobile devices, SIM card resellers, as well as banks and other players with big customer bases.
“We’re still looking for partners around the world,” he adds.
Established in 2012, ComfortWay launched its first product — a travel router with flat rates on mobile data across the EU — in 2014. This has generated an annual revenue of about €500,000, says Pravdin.
The company had never raised venture money so far, with the founders investing €1 million from their own pocket at start.
ComfortWay is a resident company of Skolkovo, the international tech hub under completion on the outskirts of Moscow.
