Joint Venture also formed, with ePLDT to deliver market-leading solutions to enable Digital Enterprise services in Southeast Asia.

PLDT President and CEO Napoleon Nazareno and Phunware Chairman, CEO and Co-Founder Alan Knitowski (seated) formalize the partnership between the PLDT Group and Phunware during a signing at PLDT Capital's offices in El Segundo, California. The partnership involves a direct investment by PLDT Capital in US mobile platform leader Phunware and the creation of a joint venture that will allow PLDT’s ICT unit, ePLDT, to market and exclusively distribute Phunware’s targeted mobile and multiscreen solutions in Southeast Asia. Also in photo are: (standing, from left to right) PLDT AVP Nico Alcoseba, PLDT Strategy Office’s Irene Licas, PLDT SVP and CFO  Anabelle Chua, PLDT Chief Strategy Officer and PLDT Capital Managing Director Winston Damarillo, Phunware EVP for Global Operations Scott Kenyon, Phunware VP for Engineering, Matt Lindenberger,  Phunware  CTO & Co-Founder Luan Dang, and Phunware Director of Marketing Amy Hawthorne.

LOS ANGELES AND MANILA, 6 October 2015 – Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company (“PLDT”) (PSE: TEL) (NYSE: PHI), through PLDT Capital, has entered into a joint venture with Phunware, whose world-first integrated applications platform enables companies to engage and  manage relationships with their customers worldwide: anytime, anywhere, on any device.

The new partnership involves a total investment of $10 million that will enable PLDT’s subsidiary, ePLDT, to market and exclusively distribute Phunware’s targeted mobile and multiscreen solutions in Southeast Asia.

Through its pioneering Multiscreen as a Service (MaaS) platform, Phunware gives companies everything they need to engage seamlessly with their customers through mobile devices, from indoor and outdoor location-based marketing and advertising to content management, notifications and analytics, to indoor mapping, navigation and wayfinding.  

“Filipino and ASEAN consumers are among the most engaged users of mobile and digital services in the world,” said Winston Damarillo, Managing Director of PLDT Capital and Chief Strategy Officer of PLDT. “We see mobile phones as an essential part of our daily lives and expect new experiences to pique our digital curiosity.”

“The partnership of the PLDT Group and Phunware will also enable our corporate and SME clients to address the growing needs and appetites of their digital consumers,” Damarillo added. 

Phunware currently supports more than 500 million monthly unique users globally on its multiscreen cloud platform, including branded application portfolios and infrastructure for hundreds of enterprise customers across more than 40 billion indoor and outdoor user events.

Phunware’s impressive list of top-tier customers includes CBS Interactive, NBC Sports, Dignity Health, GameStop, Mandarin Oriental and WWE amongst many others.

Highlighting the value of Phunware's partnership with PLDT, Phunware Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder Alan S. Knitowski said, “With more than 70 million subscribers, PLDT instantly provides a large base of audiences and communities that will enjoy new and unprecedented levels of real-time engagement both indoors and outdoors across their favorite brands and venues. At the same time, we look forward to expanding PLDT’s product portfolio.”

ePLDT CEO and PLDT EVP Eric Alberto said the joint venture will provide an edge for companies that do business in retail, travel, hospitality and real estate.  

“ePLDT is constantly seeking ways to provide strategic digital advantages for our customers,” he said. “Phunware’s market ready solutions - together with our other digital solution sets in the domains of Data Center, Cloud and Big Data - will enable ePLDT to accelerate the ongoing digital transformation of large enterprises and small and medium-sized businesses.”

 ePLDT-Phunware services are set to launch within the next 90 days.