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SG's Transcelestial enters Philippine market with $2-M investment

By TED CORDERO,GMA News

Singapore-based technology startup Transcelestial Technologies is entering the Philippine market with a $2-million investment it secured from an Ayala-led venture capital fund.

In a statement on Friday, Transcelestial said it aims to work with Philippine telcos to provide a solution to the daunting industry challenge of putting up cell sites.

The tech firm will be offering its proprietary device, CENTAURI — a shoebox-sized device weighing less than 3 kilos capable of delivering fiber-like speeds to customers at fraction of the cost of traditional fiber.

Transcelestial said CENTAURI, is a mass-produced network device which leverages the company’s proprietary Wireless Laser Communication Technology to create a wireless distribution network between buildings, traditional cell towers, street-level poles and other physical infrastructure.

The device unlocks fiber-equivalent high bandwidth between 4G/5G cell towers and the telecom core network which connects back to their data centers, it said.

Through CENTAURI there are no delays caused by right of way issues and the built in automatic alignment technology makes the deployment happen within minutes, according to the tech company.

Local telcos will also be freed from spectrum charges and extra digging costs for laying fiber cables, resulting in faster 5G rollout with reduced total cost and time.

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Transcelestial secured the $2-million funding from Ayala Corporation Technology Innovation Venture (ACTIVE) Fund.

ACTIVE Fund is a $180 million venture capital fund to support startups pursuing innovations along key technology areas in data and analytics, machine learning, artificial intelligence, cloud computing, fintech, automation, real estate, retail, transport, energy, water, health and wellness, and food.

The fund also leverages on the participation of Ayala conglomerate’s subsidiaries namely AC Energy, AC Industrials, AC Ventures, BPI, and Globe Telecom.

ACTIVE Fund is being managed by Globe’s wholly-owned unit Kickstart Ventures.

“The team at Kickstart have been fully aligned with our goals of solving the last mile and global bottlenecks in internet distribution. We could not have asked for a better partner to help us not only work with Globe in Philippines but also advise us on bringing our current and future products to solve some of the challenges in the archipelago nation.”, said Rohit Jha, CEO of Transcelestial

“We’re proud to be publicly sharing an ACTIVE Fund investment for the first time, especially that it tackles improving internet distribution, an issue that is of heightened relevance to Filipinos. As more Filipinos become reliant on internet access for their livelihood and social connections, we’re hopeful that Transcelestial will help increase Internet penetration and provide telcos and ISPs with an affordable option for 5G deployment,” said Minette Navarrete, president of Kickstart Ventures. —LBG, GMA News