PLDT invests $10M in joint venture with Phunware

Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company (PLDT) has entered into a $10-million joint venture deal with mobile solutions developer Phunware.

 

Newly created investment arm PLDT Capital invested $10 million to enable subsidiary ePLDT to market and exclusively distribute Phunware’s mobile and multiscreen solutions in Southeast Asia.

 

“This will make mobile phones much more useful to customers,” PLDT Public Affairs head Ramon Isberto said in a phone interview.

 

Expected to launch within the next three months, Isberto said ePLDT-Phunware customers will be able to do shopping, watch TV programs, and make hospital arrangements via their mobile phones.

 

Retail, travel, hospitality, and real estate companies can do business with an edge through the mobile solutions, said Eric Alberto, PLDT vice president and ePLDT CEO. 

 

 “Phunware’s market ready solutions – together with our other digital solution sets in the domains of data center, cloud, and big data – will enable ePLDT to accelerate the ongoing digital transformation of large enterprises and small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs),” he said in a separate statement.

 

The multiscreen as a service platform enables companies to engage their customers through mobile devices be it marketing, advertising, content management, indoor mapping, navigation, or wayfinding.

 

“The partnership of the PLDT Group and Phunware will also enable our corporate and SME clients to address the growing needs and appetites of their digital consumers,” PLDT Chief Strategy Officer and PLDT Capital Managing Director Winston Damarillo said.

 

“We see mobile phones as an essential part of our daily lives and expect new experiences to pique our digital curiosity,” Damarillo added.

 

Phunware supports more than 500 million monthly unique users on its multiscreen cloud platform. Its customers include CBS Interactive, NBC Sports, Dignity Health, GameStop, Mandarin Oriental, and WWE.

 

“With more than 70 million subscribers, PLDT instantly provides a large base of audiences and communities that will enjoy new and unprecedented levels of real-time engagement both indoors and outdoors across their favorite brands and venues,” Phunware Chairman and CEO Alan S. Knitowski said.

 

“We look forward to expanding PLDT’s product portfolio,” he added. – Jon Viktor Cabuenas/VS, GMA News