Ericsson partners with LotusFlare, takes minority stake

Ericsson entered into a partnership with LotusFlare and acquired a minority stake in the company to accelerate the adoption of network Application Programming Interfaces (APIs).

The companies said the arrangement complemented Ericsson's offering of solutions for Communication Service Providers (CSPs) to expose and monetize advanced capabilities through network APIs. LotusFlare was described in the release as headquartered in Santa Clara, California, founded in 2014, and employing about 500 people globally.

LotusFlare's DNO Cloud platform provides consent management and digital commerce solutions that enable a Network Application Programming Interface (API) Exposure Layer for the exposure and monetization of advanced network capabilities via network APIs. The release also noted that LotusFlare owns and operates Nomad eSIM, which supplies data plans in more than 200 destinations.

Ericsson and LotusFlare said they would publish common solution blueprints that set out typical integration scenarios for the Network API Exposure Layer, including API access and consent management, and would bring those blueprints to market. The release stated that Vonage, a part of Ericsson, would leverage the resulting supply of APIs to increase consumption of new network capabilities. The parties agreed not to disclose financial details of the transaction.

“We are delighted to establish this strategic partnership with LotusFlare. The combination of Ericsson's high-performance, programmable networks with LotusFlare's Network Abstraction capabilities, Aduna's global network API aggregation capabilities, and Vonage's network powered enterprise solutions will accelerate CSPs' ability to unlock new network capabilities and take advantage of one of the most important value creation opportunities for the industry. By further strengthening the industry ecosystem, Ericsson is accelerating the potential for CSPs, enterprises, and developers to collaborate and innovate at hyperscale, leveraging the full potential of 5G and AI.” said Niklas Heuveldop, Senior Vice President, Head of Business Area Global Communications Platform and CEO of Vonage.

“We are delighted to welcome Ericsson as an investor in LotusFlare. Since our founding, our mission has been to simplify technology and customer experience. We have made significant progress towards this goal through both our DNO Cloud and Nomad eSIM businesses. Ericsson's investment represents a powerful validation of our product innovation and market impact. We are confident this partnership will unlock new market opportunities and accelerate the development of critical network asset monetization capabilities for CSPs globally.” said Secure Access Module (SAM) Gadodia, CEO and Co-Founder of LotusFlare.

The companies said they would bring the solution blueprints to market and that Vonage would use the accelerated API supply to boost developer and enterprise adoption; financial terms were not disclosed.