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Helium

Helium

Helium is a San Francisco-based wireless network and blockchain company developing a peer-to-peer wireless network.

OverviewStructured DataIssuesContributors

Contents

helium.com
Is a
Organization
Organization
Company
Company
Cryptocurrency
Cryptocurrency

Company attributes

Industry
Smart contract
Smart contract
Technology
Technology
Cryptocurrency
Cryptocurrency
Tokenization
Tokenization
Digital currency
Digital currency
Internet of things (IoT)
Internet of things (IoT)
Platform as a service (PaaS)
Platform as a service (PaaS)
Hardware
Hardware
...
Location
United States
United States
San Francisco
San Francisco
B2X
B2B
B2B
CEO
Amir Haleem
Amir Haleem
0
Founder
Shawn Fanning
Shawn Fanning
Amir Haleem
Amir Haleem
Sean Carey
Sean Carey
AngelList URL
angel.co/helium-systems
Pitchbook URL
pitchbook.com/profiles.../97943-05
Legal Name
Helium Systems Inc.
Legal classification
Corporation
Corporation
Date Incorporated
August 31, 2016
Number of Employees (Ranges)
1 – 10
Email Address
press@helium.com
sales@helium.com
hello@helium.com
Phone Number
+14155102110
Full Address
1663 Mission Street Suite 250 San Francisco, CA 94107 United States
CIK Number
1,619,966
Investors
11-11 DG Partners
11-11 DG Partners
Multicoin Capital
Multicoin Capital
Khosla Ventures
Khosla Ventures
FirstMark Capital
FirstMark Capital
Google Ventures
Google Ventures
‌
Hartford Steam Boiler Ventures
Marc Benioff
Marc Benioff
SV Angel
SV Angel
...
Founded Date
July 1, 2013
Total Funding Amount (USD)
364,800,000
Latest Funding Round Date
August 10, 2021
February 18, 2022
Competitors
Beambox
Beambox
IoTeX
IoTeX
Fetch.AI
Fetch.AI
O2 (UK)
O2 (UK)
GainSpan
GainSpan
Veniam (company)
Veniam (company)
KONUX
KONUX
Plume (company)
Plume (company)
...
Business Model
Subscription
Commerce
Exchange
Indodax
Indodax
0
Bitget
Bitget
0
Vauld
Vauld
0
Nomiswap
Nomiswap
0
Pionex
Pionex
0
Bibox
Bibox
0
KuCoin Exchange
KuCoin Exchange
0
Tokocrypto
Tokocrypto
0
...
Board of Directors
Aaron Levie
Aaron Levie
Shawn Fanning
Shawn Fanning
Matt Turck
Matt Turck
Robert Wenig
Robert Wenig
Andy Wheeler
Andy Wheeler
Vinod Khosla
Vinod Khosla
Alex Roetter
Alex Roetter
Eric Dresselhuys
Eric Dresselhuys
CTO
Marc Nijdam
Marc Nijdam
0
Key People
Amir Haleem
Amir Haleem
Frank Mong
Frank Mong
Marc Nijdam
Marc Nijdam
Also Known As
Helium Network
The People's Network
Latest Funding Type
Initial Coin Offering (ICO)
Initial Coin Offering (ICO)
Patents Assigned (Count)
5
Wellfound ID
helium-systems
API Documentation URL
docs.helium.com/api/blo...duction/
Country
United States
United States
0

Cryptocurrency attributes

Ticker Symbol
HNT
Genesis Block Date
March 1, 2017
Maximum Supply
223,000,0000
Block Explorer URL
explorer.helium.com
Announcement URL
bitcointalk.org/index.php

Other attributes

Blog
blog.helium.com
Circulating Supply
113,000,000
CoinGecko ID
helium0
Company Operating Status
Active
Cryptocurrency Symbol
HNT0
Latest Funding Round Amount (USD)
200,000,000
111,000,000
Medium URL
heliuminc.medium.com
Partner Organizations
CoinMarketCap
CoinMarketCap
DIMO Network
DIMO Network
Previous Name
Helium Systems
Total Supply
10,343,744
Wallet
crypto.com/defi-wallet/
trezor.io
coinbase.com/wallet/
ledger.com
argent.xyz
metamask.io
Wikidata ID
Q39086457
Overview

Helium (previously Helium Systems) is a developer of decentralized machine networking technology designed to introduce a better way to build wireless infrastructure. The company's technology operates a peer-to-peer wireless network, which the company calls The People's Network, which provides a secure and cost-effective way for low-power Internet of Things devices to send data to and from the Internet, thereby creating a truly decentralized and trustless model for building wireless infrastructure. Helium enables anyone to earn cryptocurrency, HNT, for becoming a network operator and providing connectivity for Internet of Things (IoT) devices.

The company was founded in 2013 by Shawn Fanning, Amir Haleem, and Sean Carey and is headquartered in San Francisco.

The People's Network

The People's Network is intended to deliver secure, ubiquitous, and affordable wireless connectivity. The network offers users a chance to connect devices and collect data with a lower cost than cellular and without the need to deploy or maintain wireless infrastructure.

This is achieved through a development of a LoRaWAN network with a range optimized for devices running on Helium LongFi, which is designed to communicate 200x further than traditional Wi-Fi. The cost of using Helium Systems' network depends on the data usage, with the cost of using the network coming at a cost based on the number of devices and the frequency of data transactions.

New wireless economy

Through The People's Network, the company offers a new wireless economy that uses a burn-and-mint equilibrium token model that utilizes two units of exchange: HNT and Data Credits. HNT is the cryptocurrency earned when hotspots provide and validate wireless coverage and transfer data over the network. Data Credits are used by devices to send data on the network and for blockchain transaction fees. Data Credits are created by burning HNT and are non-exchangeable and tied to a single user.

5G

Helium plans to launch a 5G network in partnership with FreedomFi. In April of 2021, a Helium community voted to pass HIP 27 and offer a way for Helium Network to become the first consumer-owner 5G network.

Blockchain
HNT and Proof-of-Coverage

Helium tokens, HNT, are awarded by verifying network transactions, adding new blocks to the blockchain, and performing other tasks. The Proof-of-Coverage is a unique work algorithm that uses radio waves to validate that hotspots are providing legitimate wireless coverage. This is based on the HoneyBadger BFT protocol, which allows network nodes to reach a consensus when a network connection quality is highly variable. The network also uses separate tokens, called Data Credits, which are not exchangeable and are tied to the user. These tokens are used to pay transaction fees.

The concept behind the Proof-of-Coverage is to incentivize the creation of decentralized, public wireless networks. The Helium Blockchain was originally launched on July 29, 2019 and runs on over 10,000 Helium Miners globally.

In order for a user to mine HNT, they have to install one of Helium Systems's hotspot devices, which in turn provides wireless network coverage using Helium LongFi. The hotspot only uses 5 watts of energy. The hotspot devices provide a public, decentralized LoRaWAN network.

Hotspot models
Image of the original HNT miner developed by Helium Systems.

Image of the original HNT miner developed by Helium Systems.

Besides the Helium hotspot, the original HNT mining device that launched in 2019, other devices have been developed by other hotspot modem manufacturers and approved by Helium Systems for use for HNT mining. These include hotspots for North America and Europe, beyond the original range of United States-based customers. The following are other approved hotspots:

  • HNT Outdoor Hotspot Miner by Nebra
  • HNT Indoor Hotspot Miner by Nebra
  • Bobcat Miner
  • RAK Hotspot Miner by RAKWireless
  • SycnroB.it HNT Gateway
Validators

Helium uses validators and validator nodes, which are a new entity on the Helium Blockchain intended to perform the work of the consensus group including verifying transactions and adding new blocks to the blockchain. Hosting a validator node requires a stake of 10,000 HNT and running validator node software in a suitable environment. In return, users contribute to network stability and earn rewards. These users continue to verify wireless coverage from peers and still earn the majority of rewards for providing coverage and transferring device data.

About Helium

Timeline

No Timeline data yet.

Funding Rounds

Products

Acquisitions

SBIR/STTR Awards

Patents

Further Resources

Title
Author
Link
Type
Date

Helium

Nick Grossman

https://www.usv.com/writing/2019/06/helium/

Web

June 12, 2019

References

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