Samsung pledges millions to 5G accelerator in latest AI bet

Venture capital experts over at Samsung Next found their latest venture deemed worthy of a capital injection; one that seems to cover all of today's hottest keywords across the tech industry – from AI to 5G. The lucky winner is Cellwize Wireless Technologies, an Israeli startup that doesn't have a lot in the way of brand recognition but is nonetheless already at the forefront of the fifth generation of wireless networks. All on account of CHIME, its proprietary 5G RAN automation platform powered by machine learning tech that's already in use across 16 countries.

A newly concluded Series B funding round saw Cellwize raise $32 million earlier this week, bringing its lifetime venture capital to $56 million. Samsung Next participated alongside Verizon Ventures, as well as Cellwize's Series A investors. Intel and Qualcomm led the round, the Tel Aviv-based company disclosed.

Cloud, AI, 5G: Samsung covering all of today's hottest VC trends at once

CHIME itself is a cloud RAN automation service that Cellwize – established in 2013 – originally tailored to Bell Canada and proceeded to commercialize globally. Over the last seven years, Cellwize expanded to Europe, Singapore, and South America; with even more institutional investors such as Samsung backing its operations, the firm is likely to maintain its strong momentum in the short term.

Samsung, itself, remains deeply involved in various 5G bets the world over. And while 2020 was an overall setback to global 5G deployment efforts, adoption rates are likely to return to growth by this time next year, especially with Samsung's venture capitalists signing as many checks as they have been since 2018.

Dominik Bosnjak

Business 5G Samsung NEXT