Cellular networks proceed to be a serious goal for cybersecurity breaches, and Chinese language hacking group Salt Storm‘s persistent assaults on a number of carriers are solely the newest recognized examples.
The cell service startup Cape is taking a novel method to addressing the issue: it has constructed a service it says can present a safer, personal various as a result of it doesn’t gather any information on you in any respect — even its web site doesn’t have a cookie gate. At the moment, Cape is saying a couple of massive developments in its efforts.
The Washington, DC-based firm — based by a former head of Palantir’s nationwide safety enterprise who beforehand labored within the U.S. Military’s particular forces — is releasing an open beta of its MVNO cell service, which comes within the type of a $99/month subscription plan; it has inked a partnership with Proton — the supplier of encrypted e-mail, VPN and cloud providers; and it’s raised $30 million extra in fairness and debt funding.
The $30 million is damaged down as additional $15 million in fairness tacked on to its Sequence B from A*, Costanoa, Point72, XYZ Ventures. An extra $15 million is coming within the type of a debt facility from Silicon Valley Financial institution. This brings the fairness a part of its Sequence B to $55 million, with the unique $40 million introduced in April 2024 led by Andreessen Horowitz.
Cape shouldn’t be disclosing valuation, but it surely’s notable that the funding is coming at a time when startups constructing army, protection, and safety providers are getting elevated targeted and precedence at a time when geopolitics are shifting.
Whereas lots of these shifts are taking part in out at a a lot increased stage involving wars, espionage towards officers and officers, and main contacts between outsized industrial entities, Cape’s merchandise and its progress are one of many uncommon examples of how a few of that evolution is taking part in out at a client stage.
That’s to not say that each one of Cape’s merchandise are for on a regular basis individuals. The brand new plan comes on the heels of the corporate final 12 months rising from stealth with $61 million in funding, launching a $1,500 telephone known as the Obscura, which was designed expressly for army and authorities individuals and others like them: “these going through elevated threats” within the phrases of the corporate. Then in January 2025, Cape made its first transfer to launch a service for customers. All of the open slots in that closed beta crammed up in 4 hours.
CEO John Doyle, who co-founded the corporate with Nicholas Espinoza (who’s the pinnacle of R&D), mentioned the fast tempo of sign-ups pointed to “lots of curiosity from the broader client market, people who’ve a basic want to take again a few of their privateness, take again management of the digital id as they hook up with world networks, however perhaps don’t wish to make investments on the stage required to purchase an Obscura telephone,” and that’s what led to at this time’s open beta.
Along with a commitment to not monitor or promote information, the plan contains limitless voice minutes, texts and information (however no voice over WiFi but, Doyle mentioned; that’s nonetheless coming), in addition to encrypted voicemail.
As a part of its plan, Cape additionally supplies safety towards two different rising mobile threats. The primary of those is safety from SIM swapping, utilizing cryptographic safety to maintain somebody from hijacking your quantity.
And it affords what it describes as “superior signalling safety” — which is in reference to aspect channel assaults by way of telephony signally protocol Signalling System 7. Monitoring by way of SS7 has been a recognized concern for years, however in December 2024 it was highlighted by the U.S. authorities as a specific concern for delicate calls, texts and information, which it mentioned might be accessed by spies from army and different personnel utilizing the protocol.
Doyle added that basic availability for its telephone plan will come later this 12 months. Presently, there are below 1,000 customers on its closed beta, and a few hundred Obscura telephone homeowners.
Cape’s service is anchored on UScellular, and the plan is to introduce roaming providers to its customers to increase to different international locations, in addition to to introduce MNVO-based plans in different international locations.
Europe has confirmed to be a giant marketplace for privacy-first providers, in addition to people who present options to participating with Massive Tech. That’s led to apps like Sign climbing to the highest of the app shops in not less than one European market. That would current an fascinating addressable marketplace for a startup like Cape.
Cape is leaning into that European penchant for privateness in one other method within the meantime. Simply as mainstream carriers prefer to hyperlink up in advertising and marketing partnerships with buzzy client providers to drive extra sign-ups — one latest instance being T-Cellular inking a partnership with Perplexity for an “AI Telephone” — Cape is doing the identical with like-minded privacy-first firms. First out the door is a take care of Switzerland-based Proton to drive sign-ups to the latter firm’s premium (paid) choices. Those that signal as much as a Cape $99/month telephone plan will pay $1 so as to add on on six months of Proton’s Unlimited plan, which incorporates encrypted cloud storage, VPN, expanded safe e-mail and extra.
“We did a very fairly rigorous survey of the sphere and decide we expect Proton is the clear chief by way of credibility and the way superior their tech is and the best way they’re approaching the issues [of privacy],” Doyle mentioned. He described the supply as “the primary model” of a partnership between the 2 firms.