A Hull tech firm has secured a £10m Silicon Valley investment to create 100 new jobs and expand its smart cities business.
Connexin is using the investment from Cisco Systems, which was led by Digital Alpha Advisors, to respond to increasing demand for smart city technologies among local authorities.
The company is scaling up its work with councils to provide public Wi-Fi and connected devices such as road sensors, energy and security systems.
The deal will also enable Connexin to offer cash-strapped local authorities new ways of financing technology upgrades that share the risks and rewards.
Digital Alpha will underwrite up to £100m in smart city projects in coordination with investment partners.
Connexin CEO Furqan Alamgir said: “The smart cities race has stepped up a gear and this investment lifts Connexin to the front of the field. This investment is accelerating Connexin’s work with local authorities.”
“Working together we can more quickly unlock the societal benefits of the internet of things, which means better transport, cleaner streets, improved health and social care, and a whole lot more.
“Smart cities require smart partnerships between the public sector and technology providers. With this backing, we are able to provide local authorities with smart ways to finance technology upgrades that share the risks and the benefits between us and make sense to taxpayers.”
Rick Shrotri, managing partner at Digital Alpha, added: “This is an investment in one of the UK’s leading players in smart city technology. Connexin is not just talking about smart cities as something for the future, they are making it happen right now.
“One of the bottlenecks for smart city solution adoption has been the availability of a financial structure that matches the opportunities created by smart services.
“With our investment partners, we intend to fund up to £100M of projects across the UK so that cities have a turn-key solution of technology, services, and a financial model that simplifies adoption of smart city solutions.”
Connexin will use part of the £10m investment to build a new technology campus in Hull, which will incorporate a state-of-the-art data centre and its new headquarters.
The company has outlined plans to create 100 new jobs in Hull and 10 new roles at its office in London.