Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1422707
5 NEWS 28.10.2021 FROM PAGE 1 GO Ventures in fact, joined Raku- ten Ventures, who were the lead in- vestors, and other major players like Surge (Sequoia Capital), Antler, Sing- tel Innov8, Wayra (Telefonica), LG Technology Ventures, Ground Con- trol, Plug and Play, I2BF in this latest investment round. Airalo is the world's premier eSIM store. The company has been disrupt- ing and revolutionizing the way trav- elers connect and is on its way to be- coming the go-to solution for instant travel connectivity worldwide. It seeks to bring instant connectiv- ity all around the world by allowing travelers to purchase virtual eSIM packages. It allows users to download an af- fordable plan directly to their phone without the hassle of needing to ex- change a SIM card, resulting in a seamless and contact-free experience. "eSIMs", according to Airalo's co-founders, Abraham Burak and Ba- hadir Ozdemir, "enable a smooth and seamless solution where people do not need legacy roaming systems or physical SIM cards anymore." Airalo's co-founders Abraham Bu- rak and Bahadir Ozdemir, had this to say about Airalo's partnership with GO Ventures: "The continued belief from strong regional partners such as GO Ven- tures helps reinforce that our global mission to bring eSIM travel connec- tivity starts with building our repu- tation in localised regions first. GO Ventures' value to our long-term goal of changing the face of travel connec- tivity is integral." The U.S-based startup had previous- ly secured $1.9 million in seed fund- ing from Antler and Sequoia Capital India's rapid scale-up program Surge. Since its initial funding in October of 2019, Airalo has attained global reach with an exponential increase of daily users in 190+ countries and regions in the world, resulting in a customer growth base of 15X. "GO Ventures was set up with one main ambition: that of helping start- ups, particularly digital ones, further their ambitions and we are delighted with what we have achieved so far as we keep driving digital innovation in Malta," said GO CEO Nikhil Patil. "Garnering experience as well as contacts with other venture firms outside of Malta helps us be in a stronger position to not only give more value to our shareholders but to also be better positioned to support more start-ups based here in Malta," he added. GO Ventures' startup Airalo raises $5.4 million in Series A funding Airalo's co-founders, Abraham Burak and Bahadir Ozdemir Epic celebrates 100,000 pay monthly mobile customers EPIC is the first telecommu- nications company in Malta to reach 100,000 pay monthly mo- bile subscribers. e Epic brand came into Malta with the belief that the country deserves a tele- communications company that offers a state-of-the-art network and services with great value. With this in mind, it has prom- ised to deliver both, insisting that the two can co-exist. "We thank our customers for trusting Epic and choosing to get on this journey with us. We have been investing greatly in pay monthly plans and our ser- vice for both consumer and busi- nesses since the launch of the Epic brand late last year. Seeing the great take-up of such plans is cofirmation from our custom- ers signalling that we're mov- ing in the right direction. eir trust encourages the Epic team to continue with its €40 million investment to build the strongest network ever," explained Tamas Banyai, CEO of Epic. More recently, Epic also launched a limited time offer for its youth customers, whereby anyone under the age of 29 can benefit from Epic's unlimited data plan for the reduced price of €19.99; gaining access to un- limited data with 4.5G speed, calls, and SMS locally. "Youth are our future, and we want to ensure to support them in navigating what might be the most financially stressful period of their life. Whether they are still studying with only a stipend for income, or whether they're planning to purchase their first home, our youth plans available give young people the opportu- nity to benefit fully from all that Epic has to offer, while paying less," said Tamas Banyai. For more information, visit https://www.epic.com.mt/pay- monthlyplans/