Cape will open $99 a month for its privacy-first mobile plan, Inks Proton Deal, raising $30 million
Mobile networks continue to be the main target of cybersecurity violations and Chinese hacking groups Salted typhoonPersistent attacks on multiple carriers are just the latest known examples.
Mobile carrier startup Cape We are taking a new approach to addressing the problem. It built a service that says it can provide a safer, private alternative because it doesn’t collect any data about you at all. Today, Cape announces some major developments in its efforts.
The Washington, D.C.-based company was founded by former head of the National Security Business of Palantia, who previously worked for the US Army Special Forces, but is releasing an open beta version of the MVNO mobile service. It inked a partnership with Proton, a provider of encrypted email, VPNs and cloud services. And it raised another $30 million in equity and debt financing.
A further $15 million in stocks are attached to A*, Costanoa, Point72 and XYZ Ventures Series B, which is classified as $30 million. An additional $15 million is being provided by Silicon Valley Bank in the form of debt facilities. This brings the equity portion of Series B to $55 million, with the original $40 million being announced. April 2024 Leaded by Andreessen Horowitz.
Although Cape does not disclose its assessment, it is noteworthy that when startups are building military, defense and security services, they focus and prioritize as geopolitics is changing.
While many of these shifts have been unfolding at a much higher level, including war, spying on officers and officials, and key contacts between large industrial organizations, Cape’s products and its growth are one rare example of how some of its evolution is being played at the consumer level.
That’s not to say that all of the Cape products are for everyday people. The new plan is on the heels of the company that emerged from stealth last year $61 million in fundslaunches a $1,500 phone called a phone Unclearexplicitly designed for people in the military and government, and others like them: “someone facing a rise in threat” in the words of the company. Then, in January 2025, Cape made its first move to launch consumer services. All open slots in that closed beta were filled in 4 hours.
“We will regain control over our digital identity that has a lot of interest from the wider consumer market, people with a general desire to regain some of our privacy, who do not want to invest in digital networks to connect to our global network,” said John Doyle, CEO who co-founded the company with R&D director Nicholas Espinoza. Opening the beta.
In addition to dedication To avoid tracking or selling data, this plan includes unlimited audio minutes, text and data (but there is no WiFi audio yet, Doyle is still here), and encrypted voicemail.
As part of that plan, Cape also provides protection against the threat of two other emerging cells. The first of these is protection from SIM swapping to prevent someone from hijacking your number using encryption protection.
It also offers what is known as “advanced signal protection.” Signaling System 7. Tracking via SS7 has been a known issue for years, December 2024 This was highlighted by the US government as a specific issue of sensitive calls, text and data, which stated that protocols could be accessed by spies from the military and other staff.
Doyle added that general availability of phone plans will take place later this year. Currently, the closed beta version has fewer than 1,000 users and hundreds of Obscura phone owners.
Cape’s services are fixed to Uscellular, and the plan is to introduce roaming services to users to expand to other countries and implement MNVO-based plans in other countries.
Europe has proven to be a big market for privacy-first services, offering an alternative to its involvement in big technology. That led to an app like Signal climbing to the top of the app store In at least one European market. It could present an interesting and addressable market for startups like Cape.
The Cape is leaning towards its European tastes in a different way in the interim for privacy. Just as mainstream carriers want to link with Buzzy Consumer Services in marketing partnerships to drive more sign-ups, one recent example is Partnership with T-Mobile Inking Perplexity In the case of “AI phones,” Cape does the same thing with like-minded privacy-first companies. The Door first is a contract with Switzerland-based Proton, which encourages signing up for the latter company’s premium offering. Those who sign up for Cape can pay $1 to add a phone plan that costs $99 per month in six months Unlimited Protons Plans that include encrypted cloud storage, VPN, extended secure email and more.
“We did a very rigorous investigation into this area and determined that Protons are a clear leader in terms of reliability and how advanced their technology is, and how they are approaching (privacy) issues,” Doyle said. He described the offer as the “first version” of the partnership between the two companies.