Beegol raises $4.2m for diagnostic and self-healing network technology | ZDNet

Brazilian startup Beegol has raised $4.2m in a Series A round for its machine learning powered diagnostic and self-healing technology aimed at cost savings for network service providers.

Beegol, onomatopoeically named after the Beagle dog, can sniff out ISP network problems and in many cases, it can make repairs with a remote technology embedded in the firmware chips of most modems. 

The company’s goal is to improve reliability of Internet based services and allow Internet Service Providers to improve reliability while saving money on rolling out repair trucks.

“It’s important for operators to have machine learning and diagnostics so that they understand root causes of these outages so they can prevent it from happening again or determine if it’s their issue or it could be a power line issue,” says Charles Hong, Chief Strategy Officer and co-founder of Beegol.  “It could be an issue affecting, for example, a Zoom server if our communications went out just now.”

The increased complexity of networks raise the number of points of potential failure and they raise the complexity in diagnosing problems. Without good diagnostics ISPs and telcos cannot improve reliability.

The company’s market advantage is that it managed to get its software into the firmware of the dominant chipsets used in manufacturing modems. The firmware software provides unparalleled advantages in terms of diagnostic tools and remote repairs.

The data collection allows operators to take advantage of the technology’s machine learning features to better understand problems and where future issues are likely to arise. 

The machine learning algorithms develop specific use cases for each problem. Gilberto Mayor, CEO and co-founder, explains, “When you are watching Netflix on iPad, your iPad should work well, your Wi-Fi should work well. There should be no interference from your neighbor’s channel. You should be close to the Wi-Fi access point. The local access should work well. The transport network should work well.”

The user is likely to call their Internet provider regardless of who is responsible and dissatisfaction with service is a top reason for switching providers. Beegol allows ISPs to quickly find out about a problem and start fixing it before any customer calls. ISPs can also remotely initiate some repair functions from within the firmware.

Beegol recently announced that its remote diagnostic technology will be integrated into the open industry standard Reference Design Kit (RDK), which is ubiquitously used by nearly all video and Internet network providers to manage network services. It has also joined RDK’s Technical Advisory Board.

Beegol already has customers among large ISPs and unlike many Series A startups, it already has revenues of more than $8 million and about 43 employees.

Hong said that the company waited several years to raise money to retain greater ownership.

Sometimes, a self-sustained startup will take a venture capital investment, not because they need the money, but because they hope to get some publicity from publications that cover their industry. This helps provide some validity among potential customers and future investors.

The Series A funding was provided by Indicator Capital, a Brazilian VC firm that manages a $45m fund raised last year mostly from Qualcomm and the Brazilian Development Bank.

Indicator said that it was attracted to Beegol because of the importance of trends such as working from home, video gaming, and new online social environments. 

The Beegol investment is one of many expected this year in the Latin American region, which continues to lead as the top hot spot for global VC funding. Brazil dominates the Unicorn list of startups valued at over $1 billion but other countries such as Colombia and Chile are catching up.