Altiostar Networks Acquisition, Valuation, Funding & Investors
Altiostar Networks was acquired by Rakuten Symphony for $1B in August 2021.
Altiostar Networks acquisition price
$1B
Acquired by Rakuten Symphony · Aug 2021
Cumulative funding Altiostar Networks raised
$319M
across 8 funding rounds
Key investors in Altiostar Networks
Cisco Investments
Tech Mahindra
Qualcomm Ventures
Rakuten
Excelestar Ventures
Telefónica Innovation Ventures
About Altiostar Networks
Altiostar Networks was a Chelmsford-based provider of virtualized RAN software for LTE and 5G networks. Its Open vRAN platform enabled mobile operators to deploy cloud-native base stations on commodity hardware from partners like Intel and Nokia. Rakuten acquired the company in 2019 to power its Mobile Network division in Japan and beyond. Founded in 2011, Altiostar supported operators like Rakuten Mobile with disaggregated architectures.
Founded
2011
HQ
Lowell, MAWebsite
Status
Acquired
Customer focus
B2B
Revenue model
Subscription
Valuation
$85M (Jan 2018)
Sectors
Altiostar Networks Acquisition
Altiostar Networks was acquired by Rakuten Symphony for $1B on 4 August 2021.
Before the acquisition Altiostar Networks had raised $319M across 8 funding rounds.
Rakuten Group, operator of Japan's innovative mobile network, acquired the remaining stake in U.S.-based Altiostar Networks, a pioneer in 4G and 5G open virtual Radio Access Network (Open vRAN) solutions, at a total valuation exceeding $1 billion. Rakuten previously owned 67% of Altiostar and paid $370 million for the rest to achieve full ownership, integrating it as an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary under Rakuten Symphony, its new cloud-native mobile network platform business launched concurrently. Altiostar's software enables web-scale, cloud-native mobile networks and was already integral to Rakuten Mobile's Japanese network deployment and the Rakuten Communications Platform (RCP), now rebranded under Symphony. The acquisition secures Altiostar's financial stability, accelerates R&D for virtualized and open RAN architectures, and enhances Symphony's offerings including network functions, unified cloud, and ecosystem services to global mobile operators seeking cost-effective Open RAN alternatives to traditional vendors like Ericsson, Nokia, and Huawei. Strategic investors in Altiostar included Qualcomm Ventures, Telefónica Innovation Ventures, Cisco, and others; post-acquisition, Altiostar CEO Ashraf Dahod continued leading with a role in RCP/Symphony, maintaining headquarters in Tewksbury, Massachusetts. The deal supports Rakuten's vision of interoperable, innovative solutions amid the telecom industry's shift to open networks.
| Acquirer | Date | Type | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 Aug 2021 | Strategic M&A | $1B |
Altiostar Networks Valuation
Altiostar Networks is currently valued at $85M, based on its strategic investment round in January 2018.
The $15M round was led by Tech Mahindra.
Altiostar Networks' valuation has moved from $320M at its undisclosed-stage round in October 2016 to $85M in January 2018, across 2 priced rounds.
Altiostar Networks valuation by funding round
| Date | Stage | Valuation |
|---|---|---|
| Jan 2018 | Strategic investment | $85M |
| Oct 2016 | Undisclosed stage | $320M |
Altiostar Networks Funding History
Altiostar Networks has raised a total of $319M across 8 funding rounds.
Altiostar Networks' first fundraising round was a $11M Series B in March 2013. The most recent completed round was a $114M Series C in May 2019.
Altiostar Networks funding rounds
| Date | Stage | Investors | Raised | Valuation | Deal Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 2019 | Series C | Qualcomm Ventures; Rakuten; Tech Mahindra; Telefónica Innovation Ventures | $114M | - | Altiostar Networks is a pioneer in open virtualized RAN (vRAN) and Open RAN technology, providing software for 4G and 5G networks that virtualizes the baseband unit, supports open interfaces, and enables disaggregated multi-vendor mobile networks to reduce total cost of ownership and improve spectral efficiency. The company collaborated closely with Rakuten Mobile, which deployed Altiostar's solutions in its greenfield cloud-native network in Japan launching in 2019, and also partnered with Qualcomm Technologies on 5G development and Tech Mahindra as a value-added reseller and system integrator. In May 2019, Altiostar closed a $114 million Series C funding round with participation from Rakuten, Qualcomm Ventures, Tech Mahindra, and others including Telefónica Innovation Ventures, aimed at expanding its virtual RAN solutions to full 4G and 5G end-to-end cloud-native networks. This followed earlier investments, with Rakuten joining to support its own virtualized mobile network ambitions. Rakuten later strengthened its position by acquiring Tech Mahindra's 17.5% stake in September 2020 for $45 million, becoming the majority shareholder at around 67%. In August 2021, Rakuten announced the full acquisition of Altiostar at a valuation exceeding $1 billion, paying approximately $370 million for the remaining shares to gain total ownership and integrate it into the Rakuten Communications Platform (later Symphony) for global sales to mobile operators. Altiostar's technology was commercially deployed with Rakuten Mobile and supported a diverse Open RAN ecosystem, positioning it as a key enabler for operators seeking web-scale, software-defined networks. Post-acquisition, CEO Ashraf Dahod continued leading with a role in Rakuten's platform, maintaining headquarters in Tewksbury, Massachusetts. |
| Jan 2018 | Strategic investment | Tech Mahindra (lead) | $15M | $85M | Altiostar Networks is a US-based telecom software development company specializing in virtualized Radio Access Networks (vRAN), founded in 2011 with around 220 employees and presence in the UK, Germany, India, Mexico, Argentina, and Israel. Tech Mahindra, through its subsidiary Tech Mahindra (Americas) Inc., invested $15 million for a 17.5% stake on a fully diluted basis in a portfolio investment targeting the fast-growing open vRAN space, completed by January 19, 2018. This implies a post-money valuation of approximately $85 million. The investment positioned Tech Mahindra to extend its network services capabilities in emerging technologies like Altiostar's open vRAN solution for 5G. Later, Altiostar closed a $114 million Series C round with investors including Rakuten, Qualcomm Ventures, and Tech Mahindra. In 2020, Tech Mahindra sold its stake to Rakuten for $45 million, realizing a profit, and became a preferred partner for Rakuten Communications Platform development and deployment. |
| Apr 2017 | Seed | - | $2M | - | - |
| Jan 2017 | Undisclosed stage | Cisco Investments (lead); Excelestar Ventures (lead) | $27M | - | Altiostar Networks, a Tewksbury, Massachusetts-based telecommunications company specializing in network virtualization and cloud-native RAN solutions, raised $27 million in a funding round around January 26, 2017, from investors including Cisco Investments and Excelestar Ventures. This brought the company's total funding to over $200 million at that point. A subsequent investment in February 2017 from Fidelity, nearly $70 million, valued Altiostar at a post-money $630 million, though this was a different round. Altiostar focused on disrupting traditional telecom infrastructure with software-defined solutions for 5G and open RAN technologies, backed by major players like Cisco Systems. |
| Oct 2016 | Undisclosed stage | - | $30M | $320M | Altiostar Networks develops solutions for the mobile broadband industry, including virtualized radio access network (vRAN) software for 4G and 5G networks, enabling telcos to shift to cloud-native architectures. Altiostar positioned itself in the emerging Open RAN and vRAN market, providing interoperable software for mobile network deployments. The company, backed by investors like Cisco, Fidelity, and Excelestar Ventures, had raised a total of about $140 million across four rounds by late 2015 or early 2016. The company continued operations post-2016, becoming a key supplier to operators like Rakuten Mobile, Dish Network, Bharti Airtel, and Telefónica. By 2021, it had gained traction with major global telcos, contributing to Rakuten's cloud-native network strategy. Later developments included Rakuten's initial investment in May 2019 and full acquisition in 2021 at over $1 billion valuation, acquiring remaining stakes from investors including Qualcomm Ventures and Telefónica Innovation Ventures. Tech Mahindra sold its stake for $45 million to Rakuten around that period. |
| Feb 2015 | Undisclosed stage | Cisco Investments (lead) | $70M | - | Altiostar Networks is a mobile technology company that virtualizes the radio access network (RAN) to enable software-centric, disaggregated multi-vendor mobile networks. Founded with support from Cisco (whose former CEO John Chambers envisioned RAN virtualization), the company developed software that runs on commercial-off-the-shelf hardware rather than proprietary equipment, reducing costs and vendor lock-in for mobile network operators. Altiostar attracted funding from major investors including Cisco, Fidelity, Qualcomm, Tech Mahindra, and later Rakuten. The company achieved significant traction with deployments at Rakuten Mobile in Japan, Airtel in India, Dish in the United States, and Telefonica in Europe and Latin America. In August 2021, Rakuten Group acquired Altiostar at a valuation exceeding $1 billion, consolidating the company's technology into Rakuten's global network architecture initiatives. |
| Aug 2013 | Undisclosed stage | - | $50M | - | - |
| Mar 2013 | Series B | - | $11M | - | - |
Who has invested in Altiostar Networks?
6 investors have backed Altiostar Networks across its funding rounds, including Cisco Investments, Tech Mahindra, Qualcomm Ventures, Rakuten, Excelestar Ventures and Telefónica Innovation Ventures.
Lead investors include Tech Mahindra, Cisco Investments and Excelestar Ventures.
Altiostar Networks Investors
| Investor | HQ | Rounds | Role | First check |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | 2 | Lead | Feb 2015 | |
 Mumbai | 2 | Lead | Jan 2018 | |
| San Diego, CA | 1 | Participant | May 2019 | |
 Tokyo | 1 | Participant | May 2019 | |
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Start Free TrialAltiostar Networks Competitors
Altiostar Networks competitors include listed companies like Superloop, Tejas Networks, Liberty Capital and Service Stream, and private ones like Tarana Wireless and GlasfaserPlus.
| Company | HQ | Status | Revenue | EBITDA | Valuation | Revenue Multiple |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| San Jose, CA | Private | $100M | - | $1B | 10.0x | |
 Australia | Publicly listed | $389M | $53M | $993M | 2.2x | |
 Germany | Private | - | - | $1B | - | |
| India | Publicly listed | $114M | ($70M) | $973M | - | |
| United States | Publicly listed | $952M | ($79M) | $968M | 1.7x | |
| Australia | Publicly listed | $1.7B | $101M | $1.1B | 0.6x |
Altiostar Networks Public Comps
Altiostar Networks is no longer listed, but its public comps include Superloop, Tejas Networks, Liberty Capital, Service Stream, Macquarie Technology Group, Genew, RailTel Corporation, Hexatronic Group, EuroTeleSites and Priortech.
| Last FY | EV/Revenue | EV/EBITDA | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | EBITDA | Last FY | LTM | 2027E | Last FY | LTM | 2027E | |
| $389M | $53M | 2.8x | 2.2x | 20.7x | 11.9x | |||
| $114M | ($70M) | 11.9x | - | (19.3x) | - | |||
| $952M | ($79M) | 1.8x | 1.7x | (22.2x) | 4.4x | |||
| $1.7B | $101M | 0.6x | 0.6x | 10.7x | 9.0x | |||
| $263M | $81M | 3.9x | 3.6x | 12.6x | 12.2x | |||
| $131M | $1M | 7.4x | 6.6x | 704.9x | 36.6x | |||
| $445M | $66M | 1.8x | 1.6x | 12.1x | 11.2x | |||
| $767M | $84M | 1.4x | 1.2x | 12.6x | 10.0x | |||
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Common questions about Altiostar Networks
| When was Altiostar Networks founded? | Altiostar Networks was founded in 2011. |
| Where is Altiostar Networks headquartered? | Altiostar Networks is headquartered in Lowell, MA, United States. |
| Is Altiostar Networks publicly listed? | No, Altiostar Networks was acquired by Rakuten Symphony in August 2021. |
| Who acquired Altiostar Networks? | Altiostar Networks was acquired by Rakuten Symphony in August 2021. |
| How much was Altiostar Networks acquired for? | Altiostar Networks was acquired for $1B in August 2021. |
| What is Altiostar Networks' valuation? | Altiostar Networks was last valued at $85M in its strategic investment round in January 2018. |
| How much funding has Altiostar Networks raised? | Altiostar Networks has raised $319M across 8 funding rounds. |
| What was Altiostar Networks' last funding round? | Altiostar Networks' last funding round was a $114M Series C in May 2019. |
| Who are Altiostar Networks' investors? | Altiostar Networks' investors include Cisco Investments, Tech Mahindra, Qualcomm Ventures, Rakuten, Excelestar Ventures and Telefónica Innovation Ventures. |
| Which companies are comparable to Altiostar Networks? | Companies comparable to Altiostar Networks include Tarana Wireless, Superloop, GlasfaserPlus, Tejas Networks, Liberty Capital and Service Stream. |
See companies similar to Altiostar Networks
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