Blecon has announced the successful completion of a $4.6 million seed funding round, aimed at advancing its goal of unlocking the full potential of Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) for IoT connectivity.
“Bluetooth has seen unprecedented technical and commercial success as a consumer technology for personal connectivity, with adoption in billions of devices,” said Simon Ford, CEO of Blecon. “Now, businesses are exploiting those economies of scale and unique low-cost, low-power characteristics for Cloud-connected devices, and Blecon is providing the technology to allow them to achieve it.”
Founded by IoT veterans from ARM, AWS, and Microsoft, Blecon has developed a solution that enhances Bluetooth’s potential for commercial IoT deployments. It removes the need for 1:1 pairing, allowing both existing smartphones and dedicated cellular hubs to function as hotspots. Blecon combines Bluetooth’s advantages with the deployment model of Wi-Fi and the networking approach of cellular technology.
“At Wiliot, we’re embedding Bluetooth into our IoT Pixels, stickers that bring real-time intelligence to everyday items—from supply chains to healthcare—in ways that were previously impossible,” said Steve Statler, CMO at Wiliot. “Bluetooth is no longer confined to consumer devices; it’s now driving commercial Cloud applications, and companies like Blecon are accelerating this shift.”
The seed funding, led by MMC Ventures, will enable Blecon to further develop its products and engage with more customers.
“At MMC we take a research-led approach to the companies and technologies that will reshape our economy over the coming decades.” said Bruce Macfarlane, Founding Partner of MMC Ventures. “Blecon’s infrastructure proposition has the potential to leverage all the investment already made in tried and tested Bluetooth technology and unlock that for new data-driven product companies and applications.”
Key features of Blecon’s technology include:
- No pairing required: Blecon-enabled Bluetooth devices automatically and securely connect to the Cloud without the need for traditional Bluetooth pairing
- Cellular-like network: Devices can transmit data in both directions via any available Blecon hotspots, enabling roaming similar to cellular networks
- Plug & play: Blecon Apps allow phones and laptops to act as hotspots, with Blecon Hubs providing dedicated coverage—no configuration needed
- Global reach: Benefit from Bluetooth’s universal adoption for global IoT development and deployment
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