Airwaive vs Gigs
Side-by-side comparison of AI visibility scores, market position, and capabilities
Blockchain decentralized wireless marketplace (founded 2020); $3M seed (UOB/Signum/Fenbushi), 30+ wireless operator partners, 6M+ host locations, 14 LatAm countries expansion competing with Helium Mobile for distributed small cell infrastructure.
About
Airwaive is a blockchain-powered decentralized wireless broadband marketplace — privately held, founded in 2020 by CEO Jeff Yee (former ZTE and AT&T executive) and Bin Zhu (blockchain serial entrepreneur) — connecting wireless service providers with home and business owners who earn cryptocurrency rewards by hosting wireless access points, replacing traditional cell tower site acquisition with a distributed micro-location network model analogous to "Airbnb for wireless infrastructure." The company raised $3 million in seed funding in February 2022 led by UOB (United Overseas Bank) Venture Management and Signum Capital, with participation from blockchain-focused funds including Fenbushi Capital, Spartan Group, Fundamental Labs, and Digital Finance Group. Airwaive has grown to serve 30+ wireless operators with over 6 million potential host locations in its marketplace. The company expanded into 14 Latin American countries in 2024-2025, bringing thousands of new wireless network sites to operators in Brazil, Colombia, Argentina, and other markets where conventional cell tower deployment is prohibitively expensive relative to the economic returns of serving rural and suburban populations. Airwaive Visualize, a generative AI-powered tool for natural language telecom site acquisition and management, was launched to streamline the deployment process for wireless carriers evaluating and managing distributed small cell sites. The company partners with JDI Global, the hardware manufacturer behind the Helium IoT network, for the small cell equipment deployed at host locations.
Berlin YC W21 telecom-as-a-service enabling any brand to launch MVNO in days; $97.1M total ($73M Ribbit/Google Series B Dec 2024) serving Nubank, Wealthsimple with embedded mobile competing with Bandwidth for MVNO infrastructure.
About
Gigs is a Berlin, Germany-based telecom-as-a-service platform — backed by Y Combinator (W21) with $97.1 million in total funding including a $73 million Series B in December 2024 led by Ribbit Capital with Google's Gradient Ventures, Y Combinator, and Speedinvest — providing technology companies with MVNO-as-a-service infrastructure that enables any brand to launch its own wireless mobile service in days without building carrier relationships, spectrum licenses, or telecom infrastructure. Serving leading tech brands including Nubank, Wealthsimple, HR platforms, travel companies, and phone manufacturers, Gigs enables embedded connectivity as a feature — allowing businesses to offer mobile plans to their customers as a native product extension that increases retention and creates new revenue streams.
AI Visibility Head-to-Head
Key Details
Also Compare
Track AI Visibility in Real Time
Monitor how your brand performs across ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Claude, and Grok daily.