Startup Cohere Raises $35M for 5G Modulation

Mobile startup Cohere Technologies has raised $35 million in funding in a Series C round led by Australian operator Telstra. Cohere will use the funds to introduce its patented new modulation technology.

Cohere Technologies specializes in modulation technologies that it says can unlock wireless network capacity. It will use the fresh cash to bring its new modulation scheme, called Orthogonal Time Frequency and Space (OTFS), to market as a way to help operators deal with the capacity crunch.

Telstra Corp. Ltd. (ASX: TLS; NZK: TLS), which led the round, will be among the first to benefit from the new backhaul technology. The carrier said in a release that it would begin trials to test the OTFS capability in its network in the coming months.

"We already have strong backhaul and access networks and anticipate that by working with Cohere we can improve this further as we move into a highly connected future and a 5G world," Mike Wright, Telstra Group managing director networks, said in the release.

Cohere -- which is not to be confused with the cable access startup Cohere Networks, which later changed its name to Gainspeed -- is positioning its patented OTFS modulation as integral to the future of 5G, which will necessitate more complex support from the cell sites to the backbone network. The company says it has applications for wireless backhaul and fixed wireless access both indoors and outdoors. (See 5G Use Cases, Pre-Standards Groups Proliferate and Fastback & Sub10 Merge for Millimeter Future .)

The Series C funding also includes existing New Enterprise Associates (NEA) , Lightspeed Venture Partners , and new investors Macquarie Capital and AME Cloud Ventures.

— Sarah Thomas, , Editorial Operations Director, Light Reading

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