Lightyear Secures $13M Series A Funding - Online Procurement Network

Lightyear Secures $13.1 Million Series A to Disrupt Network Procurement

Despite the increasing digitization of business processes, procuring network resources has traditionally relied on in-person meetings or phone negotiations. Lightyear, a New York City-based startup in its early stages, aimed to modernize this process, and has now announced a successful $13.1 million Series A funding round.

Investment Details

Ridge Ventures spearheaded the investment, with additional participation from Zigg Capital and a diverse group of individual investors. This latest funding builds upon a $3.7 million seed round completed last October, bringing the company’s total funding to $16.8 million.

A New Approach to Telecom Procurement

Dennis Thankachan, CEO and co-founder, explains that Lightyear has attracted customers by providing a novel method for acquiring network resources, representing a significant advancement over conventional, manual negotiation tactics.

“We introduced Lightyear last year as the first platform enabling the purchase of telecom infrastructure online. Changing established enterprise practices is challenging, but the existing telecom landscape suffers from a lack of transparency and the absence of web-based solutions. Furthermore, enterprises often lack negotiating power when dealing with large vendors,” Thankachan stated. “The poor experience with the status quo led to considerable enthusiasm for our market offering.”

The Lightyear Marketplace

Lightyear provides an online marketplace facilitating interactions between companies and vendors. This allows businesses to obtain multiple price quotes, empowering them to make more informed purchasing decisions. Since its initial launch last October, the product has undergone substantial improvements.

Initially, the platform allowed for basic configuration, price quote generation, and purchase assistance. Now, Thankachan notes that the solution encompasses the complete service lifecycle. This includes configuring a wider range of services, managing service installation, minimizing installation delays and errors, and automating service renewals for multiple services.

Rapid Growth and Expansion

These enhancements have fueled a 4X growth rate in the nine months following the previous funding round. The company has also expanded its vendor network from 400 in October to over 500 currently. Furthermore, the team has doubled in size, now comprising approximately 20 employees.

Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion

Thankachan emphasizes his dedication to fostering a diverse and inclusive company culture, drawing from his personal experiences as a person of color. “Having been a minority in various work settings, I understand the frustration of feeling unheard. We aim to cultivate a culture that deviates from the norm within the telecommunications industry by providing opportunities to underrepresented groups,” he explained.

Industry Validation

Yousuf Khan, a partner at Ridge Ventures leading the round and joining the board, highlighted the appeal of Lightyear’s approach. As a former CIO, he recognized the value proposition.

“Having led global technology operations as a former CIO, I find Lightyear’s transformation of business infrastructure procurement truly refreshing. I wish Lightyear had been available during my time as a CIO,” Khan commented in a press release.