Cyanogen has been in the news quite often in recent times. Some of the news has been focusing on their upcoming take on Android 5.0 (Lollipop), Cyanogen OS 12 which is due to see a release soon. However, other news surrounding Cyanogen has focused on their current fundraising antics. The largest of the news stories in this respect came back in January, when it was rumored Microsoft were interested in investing in Cyanogen. However, those rumors did not amount to much when earlier this month it was being reported Microsoft had backed away from any such investment. Although, it was not clearly defined, it was being also being reported that in spite of any investment, Microsoft was still interesting in some form of joint business with the OS developers. In other news, it has also been reported that Cyanogen might be targetting investors who share a vision of a more open-android, one which is less dependent on Google services and products.
Well, the latest on the funding is that round C has now closed. In closing, Cyanogen have raised a total of $80 million in this round. According to the limited publicly known details (and confirming the most recent of the rumors), Microsoft does not seem to have been one of the noted investors in this round. That said, investments have come from some of the big tech names include Twitter Ventures, Qualcomm Inc, and Telef³nica Ventures. Not to mention, the likes of Rupert Murdoch have also been named as a current investor. It is additional being reported there were a small number of unnamed strategic investors who have joined Cyanogen from a financial standpoint.
According to Premji Invest, who led the the current funding round “Cyanogen is well positioned to become the 3rd leading mobile OS, and we’re excited to back them in growing their business on a global scale“. In return, Kirt McMaster (Cyanogen CEO) also referred to the current backing from the investors by stating “We’re excited to have the backing of an amazingly diverse group of strategic investors who are supporting us in building a truly open Android“. Although, it was not specifically addressed, the current $80 million investment is expected to see cyanogen valued in the 100’s of millions. Not to mention Cyanogen state they will use the funding “to hire talent and accelerate the development of its open OS platform“.