Proximus and VIVES II, existing shareholders of Tessares, are thereby strengthening their participation and are joined by the SRIW which is also participating. The amount raised is aimed at speeding up international growth and development of new products and services through investment in R&D.
Supporting international expansion
Since its creation in 2015, Tessares, a spin-off from the UCLouvain University, has developed in partnership with Proximus, an innovative technology based on Multipath TCP (MPTCP). This technology makes it possible to boost Internet speed in isolated rural areas by combining the flows from the 4G/LTE mobile networks and the fixed DSL networks. By doing so, it is possible to bring users greater speed when they surf the Internet. Thanks to Tessares, close to 15,000 households in three countries now benefit from faster Internet access.
In the space of three years, Tessares has gained credibility thanks to its innovative product. Indeed, the technology it developed, along with the industrial ecosystem surrounding it, has enabled Tessares to conclude contracts with Proximus and telecom operators KPN in the Netherlands and Telia in Lithuania. Other contracts, which will allow several tens of thousands of new households to be equipped with the Tessares technology, are being finalized. In Belgium, Proximus has just completed very conclusive tests in rural areas across Wallonia and will start to deploy the technology nationally at the beginning of April. The results of the tests showed Internet speed increased to up to 15 Mbps and greater customer satisfaction.
The ambition of the company is to offer its technology to operators so that, among other things, they can comply with the EU's digital agenda, which provides that all Europeans should have Internet access of at least 30 Mbps by 2020, and half of all households should have at least 100 Mbps access.
Commitments from existing partners and a new partner
Upon its creation in 2015, the start-up based in Louvain-la-Neuve benefited from the investment of Proximus and the VIVES II - Louvain Technology Fund. Tessares already employs 28 people and is continuously looking to recruit more staff.
The funding round aims to further enhance its product and support Tessares to continue its growth and international development. Proximus and VIVES II have proposed to participate in this round and are thus strengthening their support to the Belgian start-up. The SRIW (Société Régionale d’Investissement de Wallonie) has also shown its interest in Tessares and decided to participate in this funding round.
Through its renewed commitment, Proximus underlines its willingness to promote innovation and support Belgian start-ups. In addition, the technology developed with Tessares enables Proximus customers to benefit from Internet access of considerably higher quality.
For Tessares :
Denis Périquet
+32 10 39 22 54
+32 497 07 65 42
About Tessares :
Tessares is a UCLouvain spin-off founded in March 2015 by Olivier Bonaventure, Gregory Detal, Sébastien Barré, Denis Périquet and Sopartec. It is above all a technological start-up which is active in research, development, marketing and deployment of software solutions that significantly improve the performance and quality of Internet connectivity by leveraging existing networks.
For more information, visit www.tessares.net.
For VIVES II :
Philippe Durieux, Sopartec
+ 32 10 39 00 21, p.durieux@sopartec.com
About VIVES II :
VIVES II - Louvain Technology Fund (VIVES II) is a multi-sector technology fund, which invests in the spin-offs of the Université catholique de Louvain (UCLouvain) and start-ups in Belgium and neighbouring countries. VIVES II is funded by a dozen leading Belgian and European investors such as the European Investment Fund (EIF), SFPI-FPIM, BNP Paribas Fortis Private Equity Belgium, BPI France (France), ING Belgium, Sofina, AXA Belgium, Belfius, IRD (France), Nivelinvest, Brussels-Capital Region and Sopartec. The objective of the fund is to invest in the development of start-ups, from validation of the technology to commercial maturity. The funds (VIVES I - €15 million and VIVES II - €43 million) are managed by Sopartec, UCLouvain’s technology transfer company. Key investee companies : Iteos, Promethera, Novadip, Syndesi, A-Mansia, Aphea, Tessares, Axinesis, Green2Chem, E-Peas, Smartnodes, Upstreem, etc.
For more information, visit www.vivesfund.com.
For SRIW :
About SRIW :
SRIW (Société Régionale d'Investissement de Wallonie) contributes to the economic development of our region through partial financing of Walloon companies or development projects located in Wallonia. It invests in growth, alongside private investors through loans and equity.
For more information, visit www.sriw.be.
For Proximus :
+32 2 202 44 44
Fabrice Gansbeke Haroun Fenaux
+32 472 050 702 +32 476 600 333
About Proximus :
Proximus Group is a telecommunication & ICT company operating in the Belgian and international markets, servicing residential, enterprise and public customers. Proximus’ ambition is to become a digital service provider, connecting everyone and everything so people live better and work smarter. Through its best-quality integrated fixed and mobile networks, Proximus provides access anywhere and anytime to digital services and easy-to-use solutions, as well as to a broad offering of multimedia content. Proximus transforms technologies like the Internet of Things (IoT), Big Data, Cloud and Security into solutions with positive impact on people and society. With 13,391 employees, all engaged to offer customers a superior experience, the Group realized an underlying Group revenue of EUR 5,778 million end-2017.
Proximus (Euronext Brussels: PROX) is also active in Luxembourg through its affiliates Telindus Luxembourg and Tango and in the Netherlands through Telindus Netherlands. BICS is a leading international communications enabler, one of the key global voice carriers and the leading provider of mobile data services worldwide.
For more information, visit www.proximus.com & www.proximus.be