Cell networks proceed to be a serious goal for cybersecurity breaches, and Chinese language hacking group Salt Hurricane‘s persistent assaults on a number of carriers are solely the most recent identified examples.
The cellular provider startup Cape is taking a novel method to addressing the issue: it has constructed a service it says can present a safer, non-public different as a result of it doesn’t gather any knowledge on you in any respect — even its web site doesn’t have a cookie gate. Immediately, Cape is saying a number of large developments in its efforts.
The Washington, DC-based firm — based by a former head of Palantir’s nationwide security enterprise who beforehand labored within the U.S. Military’s particular forces — is releasing an open beta of its MVNO cellular 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 isn’t disclosing valuation, but it surely’s notable that the funding is coming at a time when startups constructing navy, protection, and security providers are getting elevated targeted and precedence at a time when geopolitics are shifting.
Whereas a lot of these shifts are enjoying out at a a lot greater degree involving wars, espionage in opposition to officers and officers, and main contacts between outsized industrial entities, Cape’s merchandise and its development are one of many uncommon examples of how a few of that evolution is enjoying out at a shopper degree.
That’s to not say that every one of Cape’s merchandise are for on a regular basis individuals. The brand new plan comes on the heels of the corporate final yr rising from stealth with $61 million in funding, launching a $1,500 cellphone referred to as the Obscura, which was designed expressly for navy and authorities individuals and others like them: “these dealing with elevated threats” within the phrases of the corporate. Then in January 2025, Cape made its first transfer to launch a service for shoppers. 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 shopper market, people who’ve a common need to take again a few of their privateness, take again management of the digital id as they connect with international networks, however possibly don’t wish to make investments on the degree required to purchase an Obscura cellphone,” and that’s what led to at present’s open beta.
Along with a dedication to not monitor or promote knowledge, the plan consists of limitless voice minutes, texts and knowledge (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 gives safety in opposition to 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 facet channel assaults by way of telephony signally protocol Signalling System 7. Monitoring by way of SS7 has been a identified difficulty for years, however in December 2024 it was highlighted by the U.S. authorities as a selected difficulty for delicate calls, texts and knowledge, which it mentioned may very well be accessed by spies from navy and different personnel utilizing the protocol.
Doyle added that common availability for its cellphone plan will come later this yr. Presently, there are below 1,000 customers on its closed beta, and a few hundred Obscura cellphone 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 an enormous marketplace for privacy-first providers, in addition to those who present options to partaking with Massive Tech. That’s led to apps like Sign climbing to the highest of the app shops in at the least 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 partnerships with buzzy shopper providers to drive extra sign-ups — one current instance being T-Cell 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 cellphone plan will pay $1 so as to add on on six months of Proton’s Limitless plan, which incorporates encrypted cloud storage, VPN, expanded safe e-mail and extra.
“We did a extremely fairly rigorous survey of the sector and decide we predict Proton is the clear chief when it comes to credibility and the way superior their tech is and the way in which they’re approaching the issues [of privacy],” Doyle mentioned. He described the supply as “the primary model” of a partnership between the 2 firms.
