Andy Rubin’s new company Essential has announced that is has raised $300 million in funding for its upcoming smartphone.
According to The Wall Street Journal, American e-commerce giant Amazon and Chinese internet media conglomerate Tencent are two of the major companies that have invested in the Essential Phone.
Little else was revealed about the investment, including why exactly the two companies have gotten involved with the Essential phone.
This isn’t the first time Amazon has invested in a smartphone, though.
In July 2014, the company launched its own phone, the Amazon Fire, but the device failed to make a splash in a smartphone market dominated by Apple and Samsung.
Tencent, meanwhile, is the largest gaming company in the world thanks to its large array of successful mobile games.
The Essential Phone was announced back in May and was expected to ship in June, but it has not yet been released.
Rubin says the phone will launch “in a few weeks.”
In any case, the Essential Phone will be available exclusively through Telus in Canada, whenever it does end up getting released.
In the meantime, Essential recently detailed the engineering and software work that went into developing the phone’s camera.
Source: The Wall Street Journal Via: CNBC
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