The BOW Group has closed its series B funding round led by PM Equity Partner (PMEP). NextStage, an investment company listed on the Euronext Paris regulated exchange, also participated.
BOW (Be Over the World) Group is a consumer-driven Internet-of-Things (IOT) specialist, operating worldwide in the wearables, connected vehicles and smart home markets with three distinct brands MyKronoz, RoadEyes and Deconnect.
“This new round of funding will enable us to expand our international presence to 100 countries by 2018 and to consolidate our leadership position in Europe while accelerating the development of innovative products and services within the IOT space. These investments will allow us to take the steps needed to fulfil our ambition to become a billion-dollar company in the next five years,” says Boris Brault, Chairman and CEO of BOW Group, who remain BOW’s majority shareholder.
Since its 2015 EUR10 million series A financing led by NextStage, BOW Group has demonstrated strong growth and profitable operations. BOW has over the last few years gained significant expertise in developing and launching IOT products through digital marketing and community engagement. Fuelled by ambition and innovative vision, BOW Group has proven its ability to conquer new markets through a bold and winning commercial strategy combining traditional retail and digital channels. BOW has today sold more than 2.5 million devices.
The Swiss wearable brand MyKronoz is a strong asset of BOW Group. MyKronoz has in less than 4 years, established itself as a fierce challenger to both tech and traditional watchmakers, and is now considered one of the most promising startups in the smartwatch industry.
“Having backed BOW Group from its early beginning and helped them structure the 3 companies, we are proudly witnessing their ability to deliver innovations and scale up their business to compete in this fast-moving landscape. The Internet of Things market is set to hit USD267 billion by 2020, and we are confident to be in an even stronger position today to take part, together, in this revolution,” says Nicolas de Saint Etienne, BOW Board member and Managing Partner at NextStageAM.
