Airalo secures US$5.4M Series A led by Rakuten to expand its global eSIM coverage

Airalo co-founder Ahmet Bahadir Ozdemir

Airalo, a US-based e-SIM startup with hubs in Singapore, Toronto, and Istanbul, has secured US$5.4M in a Series A investment round led by Japanese corporate VC firm Rakuten Ventures.

Sequoia Capital India’s Surge, Antler, Singtel Innov8, Wayra (Telefonica), LG Technology Ventures, GO Ventures, Ground Control, Plug and Play, and I2BF Global Ventures also participated.

With this new capital, Airalo will continue to expand by increasing its global eSIM coverage, in-app services and refining its user experience. The travel-tech firm will also scale its team and partner with new telcos and travel companies.

Airalo was established in early 2019 by Abraham Burak and Bahadir Ozdemir. Airalo — a combination of ‘Air’ and ‘Alo’ (which means ‘hello’ in many parts of the world) — aims to bring instant connectivity worldwide by allowing travellers to purchase virtual eSIM packages.

Also Read: Use this eSIM wherever you go in the world, thanks to these 2 Turkish entrepreneurs

The firm allows users to download an affordable plan directly to their phone without the hassle of needing to exchange a SIM card. It essentially means that if you are on a foreign trip, you no longer need to go through the hassles of buying local physical SIM cards at the airport and installing it or carry multiple cards — no matter where you are in the world.

How it works

Getting and installing an eSIM is simple:

• Go to the Airalo.com site.
• Download its mobile app (Android and iOS ).
• Choose your travel destination and purchase a local eSIM QR code for that country.

Then you scan that QR code using your eSIM-compatible device, and the eSIM gets directly installed on the device.

In October of 2019, Airalo secured US$1.9 million in seed funding from Antler and Surge. Since then, it has expanded its service to cover more than 190 countries and regions.

“We want to create the gateway to instant travel connectivity worldwide. eSIMs enable a smooth and seamless solution where people no longer need legacy roaming systems or physical SIM cards,” the founder-duo said in a press release.

With a background in shipping and telecommunications, Ozdemir, a Turkish national, has in the past built two startups — Wossco, a Foodpanda for ship supplies, and Sim4Crew, a global mobile virtual network operator for sailors.

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Image Credit: Airalo

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