Carrier IQ

Carrier IQ was a mobile software company established in 2005 by Konstantin Othmer as a spin-off from his previous venture, Core Mobility. The firm specialized in providing mobile intelligence to wireless carriers and device manufacturers, operating on a business-to-business model. Its core offering was a software agent, pre-installed on mobile devices, designed to gather diagnostic data on network performance, device reliability, and service quality. This data was then aggregated and analyzed on Carrier IQ's big data platform, delivering actionable insights to its clients, which included major carriers like AT&T and Sprint, and manufacturers such as HTC and Samsung. The company's business model was structured around a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) subscription, allowing mobile network operators to access analytics for purposes like improving network coverage, understanding device performance, and reducing customer support issues.

Throughout its history, Carrier IQ achieved several milestones, including securing $20 million in Series C financing in 2009 and later $12 million in a Series D round in 2010. By late 2010, its software was deployed on over 100 million devices, and by mid-2011, it was processing over a petabyte of analytics data monthly. The company's trajectory was significantly altered in late 2011 when security researcher Trevor Eckhart revealed that the software had the capability to log sensitive user data, including keystrokes and text message content, sparking a major privacy controversy. While Carrier IQ maintained that it acted as an agent for its clients and that data collection parameters were set by the carriers themselves, the backlash was substantial. The scandal led to public outcry, lawsuits, and ultimately, the removal of the software from many devices. Following a few quiet years, Carrier IQ effectively ceased operations in late 2015 when AT&T, a long-time customer, acquired its software assets and hired some of its employees.

Keywords: mobile intelligence, carrier analytics, device diagnostics, network performance management, user experience analytics, telecommunications software, mobile network operator tools, big data analytics, SaaS, customer experience management, Konstantin Othmer, Core Mobility, Trevor Eckhart, mobile privacy, AT&T acquisition, handset diagnostics, service quality monitoring, dropped call analysis, battery life optimization, mobile software agent