Open Garden Voted Top Investor Pick At CTIA's Super Mobility Week

Las Vegas, Sept. 11, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Open Garden today announced that it has been voted Top Investor Pick amongst 40 finalists at CTIA's Super Mobility Week Startup Competition.

The CTIA Investor Panel is comprised of judges from Blumberg Capital, Caten McGuire, Cooley LLP, Docomo Capital, Ericsson, Fortify Ventures, Honda, Intel Capital, Khosla Ventures, LG Electronics Mobile, mBlox, Orange Labs, Samsung, Sony Growth Ventures and Innovation, Sprint, T-Mobile, and Verizon Wireless.

"We are honored to be selected as CTIA's Top Investor Pick," said Micha Benoliel, Open Garden's CEO and co-founder. "The 'Internet of Things' is now a reality. Open Garden's technology provides a simple solution to connect these new devices and enables incremental revenue for the mobile operators who embrace this revolution."

"CTIA is very excited that Open Garden was picked by our Investor Panel," said Heather Blanchard, Director of Wireless Internet Development at CTIA – The Wireless Association. "We are very enthusiastic about Open Garden's future."

At CTIA, Open Garden introduced the Open Garden Network for IoT Devices enabling seamless access to other devices and the Internet via secure peer-to-peer connections. Devices automatically detect nearby enabled smartphones or tablets via Bluetooth LE (Low Energy) and can pass data through them securely until the proper destination or recipient are reached. No pairing or configuration are required on the device owner's part. To enable access to the network, device manufacturers use a simple digital access key, available from Open Garden and its partners.

TrackR is the first device to leverage this new technology. TrackR is a small, coin-sized device that attaches to your valuable items such as your keys, wallet, luggage, bike, and more. With the Open Garden Network, TrackR users will receive GPS updates when users of Open Garden's apps or partners' apps or devices come within the range. The system is completely secure and anonymous.

Devices can access the Open Garden Network via an API that is available to devices manufacturers and operators. For more information, please visit www.opengarden.com/IoT.

About Open Garden
Open Garden Inc. is a San Francisco based startup dedicated to connecting the next billions of mobile devices with peer-to-peer connections. Open Garden was recognized as the Most Innovative Startup when it was debuted at TechCrunch Disrupt NYC 2012, and was the Grand Prize Winner of the GMIC startup competition in October 2013. Open Garden is also the publisher of FireChat, the first messaging app that works off-the-grid. Launched in March 2014, FireChat has reached the top 10 amongst social networking apps in 117 countries around the world.

About CTIA
CTIA-The Wireless Association® (www.ctia.org) is an international organization representing the wireless communications industry. Membership in the association includes wireless carriers and their suppliers, as well as providers and manufacturers of wireless data services and products. CTIA advocates on behalf of its members at all levels of government. The association also coordinates the industry's voluntary best practices and initiatives, and sponsors the industry's leading wireless tradeshow. CTIA was founded in 1984 and is based in Washington, D.C.

Press Contact:
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