Phunware is redefining the way Fortune 500 brands engage with the public on mobile

Offers fully integrated enterprise cloud platform for mobile Multiscreen-as-a-Service platform offering includes software development kits, vertical solutions, a mobile application framework, and data products Top-tier customers and partners What Phunware does: Phunware Inc (NASDAQ:PHUN), which launched in 2009, provides a fully integrated enterprise cloud platform for mobile that provides products, solutions, data, and services for brands, companies, and governments. The company’s Multiscreen-as-a-Service (MaaS) offerings include engagement, management, and monetization initiatives that help the world’s most respected brands create category-defining mobile experiences. The platform is also targeted at four other verticles: Healthcare, Smart Cities, Corporate Campus, and Political Advocacy. The platform is currently largely focused on providing solutions to healthcare workers and cities confronting the coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis fallout.  The Austin, Texas-based company also operates PhunCoin and Phun, cryptocurrencies that let users monetize their digital identity. Phunware's Software Development Kits (SDKs) include location-based services, mobile engagement, content management, messaging, advertising, loyalty and rewards (PhunCoin and Phun), and analytics, as well as a mobile application framework of pre-integrated iOS and Android software modules for building an in-house or channel-based mobile application and vertical solutions. Since inception, Phunware has created more than 2.5 billion Phunware IDs representing mobile devices connected to networks. Phunware’s Knowledge Graph uses machine learning and proprietary algorithms to curate over five terabytes of data every day from approximately one billion of these active devices each month. Phunware’s data offerings enable brands to more accurately reach their target consumers. How is it doing: Phunware is continuing to see strong demand for its MaaS platforms. During FY2020, the company posted revenue of $10 million -- $9 million of which was derived from its MaaS platform subscriptions and services. The firm reported a net loss of $22.2 million for the year or $0.50 per share. Phunware kicked off 2021 with a big contract expansion in hand – widening its MaaS platform and MaaS Location Based Services (LBS) at Baptist Health South Florida (BHSF) through its channel partnership with Presidio. Phunware said Presidio’s expanded deployment of Phunware’s MaaS platform at BHSF enables even more patients, staff members, and visitors to seamlessly engage with critical healthcare functions and navigate across an additional 3.1 million square feet of medical facilities, bringing the total MaaS LBS coverage to 6.3 million sq/ft and the total contract value to more than $1 million. The company also revealed its 2021 roadmap for commercial launch of its blockchain-enabled Customer Data Platform and Mobile Loyalty Ecosystem, outlining new product releases and plans to list tokens on exchanges. On April 21, Phunware said it had released its Data Software Development Kit (SDK) for Apple iOS and Google Android on GitHub so third-party mobile applications can reward consumers with PhunCoin for their data.  The company said this important milestone, in support of the broader launch of its Multiscreen-as-a-Service (MaaS) blockchain-enabled Customer Data Platform, helps brands empower consumers to take control of and be compensated for their data. By integrating this lightweight SDK, Phunware said that any mobile application publisher can monetize and reward their audiences by signing them up to be compensated any time their data is purchased by brands. A week earlier, Phunware had released its Loyalty Software Development Kit (SDK) for Apple iOS and Google Android on GitHub to support the issuance of PhunToken by third-party mobile applications. By integrating this lightweight SDK, any mobile application publisher can track and reward in-app customer behavior on Apple iOS and Google Android.  Both PhunToken and PhunCoin will be managed by PhunWallet on Apple iOS and Google Android. PhunWallet is designed to manage the issuance of PhunCoin, which rewards consumers for the value of their data and PhunToken, which rewards consumers for the value of their engagement, the company said.  And at the start of April, Phunware said its board had authorized bitcoin purchases in preparation for the commercial launch of its blockchain-enabled Multiscreen-as-a-Service (MaaS) Customer Data Platform (CDP) and MaaS Mobile Loyalty Ecosystem. The company noted that it had completed an initial purchase of 25.8 bitcoin at an average price of $58,133 per bitcoin. Elsewhere, on May 4, Phunware announced that it has partnered with Infinite Leap as a reseller of its digital front door on mobile. Phunware noted that Infinite Leap enables healthcare organizations to fully leverage the Internet of Things (IoT) through the seamless implementation of RTLS-enabled solutions and services. In March, the company announced that it had partnered with Vizzia Technologies to offer its digital front door solution on mobile to leading healthcare organizations that leverage Vizzia’s real-time location systems (RTLS) technology. And in the same month the firm revealed that it had been selected by Dignity Health, Yavapai Regional Medical Center in Arizona for its MaaS Location-Based Services in a five-year expanded deployment.  On the financing front, in February, the company launched a $25 million public offering to satisfy obligations to redeem outstanding convertible debt and for working capital and general corporate purposes. Inflection points: Release MaaS PhunWallet mobile application portfolio on Apple iOS and Google Android to enable users to verify their identity in compliance with KYC (Know Your Customer) / AML (Anti Money Laundering) guidelines, update key attributes of their data profiles and receive both PhunCoin and Phun Tokens List Phun Tokens on initial exchange(s) to support the compliant trading of utility tokens List PhunCoin on initial Alternative Trading System (ATS) platform(s) to support the compliant trading of security tokens on a licensed exchange Release MaaS PhunWallet mobile application portfolio update to enable staking and expand feature set to enhance the user experience (UX) What the boss says: In the company's statement on April 21, Phunware’s CEO Alan Knitowski said: “It’s no secret that data has become the most valuable asset on the planet, yet consumers continue to be exploited for this vital resource without consideration and often without permission." “As a pioneer in customer data monetization, we look forward to leveraging PhunCoin to usher in a new era of transparency and accountability that enables consumers to determine not only what data they share and who they share it with, but also what that data is worth,'" he added. Contact the author at jon.hopkins@proactiveinvestors.com