Lightyear, a New York City-based company focused on streamlining the procurement of networking infrastructure – including internet service and SD-WAN – for large organizations, has announced the completion of a $3.7 million seed funding round.

Amplo spearheaded the investment, with additional participation from Susa Ventures, Ludlow Ventures, Mark Cuban, David Adelman, and Operator Partners. Concurrently, the company revealed its emergence from a period of stealth development and the launch of its solution into public beta.

Dennis Thankachan, CEO and co-founder of the company, notes that despite the widespread shift to online purchasing, acquiring networking technology still frequently relies on traditional methods like phone calls for pricing, which can take weeks to resolve. Thankachan observed this inefficiency during his time at a telecommunications-focused hedge fund, identifying a clear opportunity for a new company to address this challenge.

“We aim to transform the acquisition of telecom infrastructure to resemble the ease of purchasing everyday items online, such as socks from Amazon. This involves delivering a user-friendly experience for businesses and equipping buyers with comprehensive data. The current lack of transparency regarding costs, provider availability, and existing network resources is a primary source of frustration for enterprise purchasers,” Thankachan stated.

The platform allows users to select desired services and quickly identify providers in their geographic area, along with associated costs and contract details for straightforward purchases. However, the company acknowledges that many enterprise acquisitions are more complex and is actively working to fully digitize the corporate purchasing process within the Lightyear platform.

To support its data-driven approach, the company has already established partnerships with over 400 networking providers globally. The pricing structure is still being finalized, with options including a monthly subscription or a percentage-based commission on sales. Currently, they are utilizing the latter model during the beta phase to offer the product at no cost to users.

Currently employing 10 individuals, the company intends to expand its team to 20 within the next year, fueled by the recent investment. Thankachan emphasizes his strong commitment to diversity and inclusion, viewing these principles as fundamental to the company’s values, particularly given his own background as a person of color.

“We are dedicated to creating opportunities for individuals from diverse backgrounds to thrive, and believe that expanding economic access for those historically underserved is a crucial step towards bridging the opportunity gap in our country,” he explained.

Founded a year ago, the company’s development has largely occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, Thankachan has yet to meet his customers or investors in person, but has adapted to managing relationships remotely. While he is located in New York City, his investors are primarily based in the Bay Area, and this remote working arrangement is expected to continue for the foreseeable future.

As Lightyear progresses from its seed round towards a Series A funding stage, Thankachan is focused on maintaining a clear vision and demonstrating strong product-market fit across a diverse range of businesses. He believes achieving this will provide the necessary data to attract further investment and support the company’s continued growth.