Cyanogen Valuation, Funding & Investors
Cyanogen is valued at $500M as of March 2015.
Last Cyanogen valuation
$500M
Series C · Mar 2015
Last Cyanogen funding round
$85M
Series C · Mar 2015
Cumulative funding Cyanogen raised
$115M
across 3 funding rounds
Key investors in Cyanogen
Andreessen Horowitz
Tencent
Benchmark
Premji Invest
About Cyanogen
CyanogenMod is a free open-source operating system based on Android, featuring custom ROMs with enhancements like privacy controls and performance tweaks. Released in rolling updates from 2009 until 2016, it powered over 50 million devices globally as a base for third-party developers. Maintained by a community on cyanogenmod.org, it influenced modern custom ROMs like LineageOS.
Founded
2013
HQ
San Francisco, CAWebsite
Status
Privately held
Customer focus
B2C
Revenue model
Non-profit, Subscription
Valuation
$500M (Mar 2015)
Cyanogen Valuation
Cyanogen is currently valued at $500M, based on its Series C in March 2015.
The $85M round was led by Premji Invest.
Cyanogen valuation by funding round
| Date | Stage | Valuation |
|---|---|---|
| Mar 2015 | Series C | $500M |
Cyanogen Funding History
Cyanogen has raised a total of $115M across 3 funding rounds.
Cyanogen's first fundraising round was a $7M Series A in September 2013. The most recent completed round was a $85M Series C in March 2015.
Cyanogen funding rounds
| Date | Stage | Investors | Raised | Valuation | Deal Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 2015 | Series C | Premji Invest (lead) | $85M | $500M | Cyanogen, an Android OS maker that commercialized the open-source CyanogenMod project started in 2009, raised $80 million in a Series C funding round on March 23, 2015, led by Premji Invest with participation from Twitter Ventures, Qualcomm, Telefónica Ventures, Smartfren Telecom, Index Ventures, Access Industries, Rupert Murdoch, Vivi Nevo, and existing investors including Benchmark, Andreessen Horowitz, Redpoint Ventures, and Tencent Holdings. This brought total funding to $110 million following a prior $23 million Series B in 2013. The round was estimated to value the company at $500 million or more, according to sources familiar with the matter reported in January 2015. Cyanogen, founded in 2013 with offices in Palo Alto and Seattle, had grown to 80 employees and boasted over 50 million users worldwide for its customizable, secure Android alternative free from Google services. The funding aimed to support hiring, accelerate development of its open mobile OS platform, and pursue strategic partnerships, including pre-loading on hardware from manufacturers like Alcatel and Smartfren's Andromax devices in Indonesia. CEO Kirt McMaster emphasized empowering developers, hardware makers, and consumers with a truly open Android ecosystem. Partnerships like one with Qualcomm were already in place, and unannounced strategic investors hinted at further deals, amid earlier interest from Microsoft, Amazon, and others. Cyanogen positioned itself against Google's dominance by enabling user defaults for third-party services like Spotify over Google Play Music. The company sought to expand beyond community-driven mods, as seen with OnePlus pre-loading its OS on devices, but faced talent competition in telecom engineering. Sources noted ambitions to challenge Google fundamentally, with McMaster previously stating goals to 'take Android away from Google' and 'put a bullet through Google's head.' |
| Dec 2013 | Series B | Andreessen Horowitz (lead); Tencent | $23M | - | Cyanogen Inc., the commercial entity behind the popular open-source CyanogenMod custom ROM for Android devices, raised approximately $22-23 million in a series B funding round on December 19, 2013, led by Andreessen Horowitz with participation from Tencent, Benchmark Capital, and Redpoint Ventures. This followed a $7 million series A round in September 2013 led by Benchmark and Redpoint, bringing total funding to around $30 million. The company, based in Seattle, aimed to transform CyanogenMod from a hobbyist project into a legitimate mobile operating system challenger to Android and Windows Phone. Co-founder Steve Kondik, formerly of Samsung, emphasized building for users rather than carriers or OEMs, highlighting independence in the mobile ecosystem. The new capital was earmarked for aggressive hiring of about 70 engineers and designers, expanding internationally especially in China via partnerships like with Oppo on the N1 smartphone, and developing software for wearables and cars. Andreessen Horowitz general partner Peter Levine joined the board and expressed belief in CyanogenMod becoming one of the world's largest mobile OSes. Cyanogen positioned its OS as offering enhanced security and personalization over stock Android, pursuing a direct-to-consumer model while exploring revenue through value-added services and hardware partnerships. The rapid follow-on round, just months after series A, reflected investor confidence despite some open-source community criticism of commercialization efforts. |
| Sep 2013 | Series A | Benchmark (lead) | $7M | - | Cyanogen, the company behind the popular open-source Android ROM CyanogenMod, raised $7 million in a Series A funding round in September 2013 led by Benchmark Capital and Redpoint Ventures. The funding supported the transition from a hobby project to a formal Seattle-based company with Kirt McMaster as CEO and Steve Kondik as CTO. At the time, CyanogenMod had approximately 8 million direct users, with broader reach through variants like Xiaomi’s MiUI. The company aimed to build an independent mobile operating system focused on user control, adding features like enhanced security, personalization, and strong cryptography while pursuing a Google Play Services license. Plans included growing the user base through compelling software, with future monetization via OEM licensing, hardware, or enterprise solutions. The team expanded to 17 members post-funding. This round preceded a quick $22-23 million Series B in December 2013 led by Andreessen Horowitz, with participation from Benchmark, Redpoint, and Tencent, to accelerate hiring in engineering, design, and product while targeting expansion in markets like China. |
Who has invested in Cyanogen?
4 investors have backed Cyanogen across its funding rounds, including Andreessen Horowitz, Tencent, Benchmark and Premji Invest.
Lead investors include Premji Invest, Andreessen Horowitz and Benchmark.
Cyanogen Investors
| Investor | HQ | Rounds | Role | First check |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Bangalore | 1 | Lead | Mar 2015 | |
 Shenzhen | 1 | Participant | Dec 2013 | |
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Benchmark 350K+ Funding Rounds and Disclosed VC Valuation Multiples
Sign up to see data on 350K+ funding rounds and disclosed revenue and EBITDA valuation multiples, from seed, through growth stage, to pre-IPO.
Start Free TrialCyanogen Competitors
Cyanogen competitors include listed companies like Hanwang Technology Co and Horizon Quantum, and private ones like /dev/agents, Descope, Dev-Docs and HackerRank.
| Company | HQ | Status | Revenue | EBITDA | Valuation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| San Francisco, CA | Private | - | - | $500M | |
| San Francisco, CA | Private | - | - | $500M | |
| Chicago, IL | Private | - | - | $500M | |
| San Francisco, CA | Private | - | - | $500M | |
| China | Publicly listed | $282M | ($14M) | $605M | |
 Singapore | Publicly listed | $269K | ($5M) | $729M |
Cyanogen Public Comps
Cyanogen is still privately-owned, but its public comps include Hanwang Technology Co, Insyde Software, Horizon Quantum, Shandong Cvicse, Suresofttech, Intercede Group, Duiba Group, Link-U Group, Railtown AI Technologies and Qt Group.
| Last FY | EV/Revenue | EV/EBITDA | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | EBITDA | Last FY | LTM | 2027E | Last FY | LTM | 2027E | |
| $282M | ($14M) | 2.2x | - | (44.4x) | - | |||
| $53M | $14M | 5.3x | 5.2x | 19.6x | 19.5x | |||
| $269K | ($5M) | 2287.8x | - | (125.2x) | (33.0x) | |||
| $22M | ($2M) | 8.0x | - | (112.8x) | - | |||
| $68M | $10M | 2.3x | - | 16.3x | - | |||
| $23M | $5M | 3.3x | 3.0x | 15.0x | 12.7x | |||
| $91M | ($14M) | 1.6x | - | (9.9x) | - | |||
| $6M | $626K | 11.7x | 2.2x | 110.1x | - | |||
This data is available for Pro users. Sign up to see all Cyanogen competitors and their valuation data. Start Free Trial | ||||||||
Common questions about Cyanogen
| When was Cyanogen founded? | Cyanogen was founded in 2013. |
| Where is Cyanogen headquartered? | Cyanogen is headquartered in San Francisco, CA, United States. |
| Is Cyanogen publicly listed? | No, Cyanogen is a private, VC-backed company. |
| What is Cyanogen's valuation? | Cyanogen was last valued at $500M in its Series C in March 2015. |
| How much funding has Cyanogen raised? | Cyanogen has raised $115M across 3 funding rounds. |
| What was Cyanogen's last funding round? | Cyanogen's last funding round was a $85M Series C in March 2015, led by Premji Invest. |
| Who are Cyanogen's investors? | Cyanogen's investors include Premji Invest, Tencent, Benchmark and Andreessen Horowitz. |
| Which companies are comparable to Cyanogen? | Companies comparable to Cyanogen include /dev/agents, Descope, Dev-Docs, HackerRank, Hanwang Technology Co and Horizon Quantum. |
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