Andrena

About Andrena

Andrena is a telecommunications company that provides high-speed, fixed wireless internet services to residential and commercial customers. Founded in 2016 by Neil Chatterjee, James Smits, and Nick De Veaux, the company emerged from frustrations with traditional internet service providers. CEO Neil Chatterjee, who studied electrical engineering at Princeton University, and CTO Nick De Veaux, also a Princeton graduate, leveraged their technical backgrounds to address the digital divide. Chatterjee's early ventures in building custom PCs and his work at a healthcare analytics startup honed his focus on creating relatable technology for the average household.

The company's core business involves purchasing internet capacity from data centers and distributing it wirelessly. It partners with real estate owners and property managers to install antennas on rooftops, creating a building-to-building network that serves residents and surrounding neighborhoods. This fixed wireless access (FWA) model bypasses the need for costly underground cables, allowing Andrena to offer internet plans, such as up to 50 Mbps for around $30 per month, at a significant discount compared to traditional broadband. The service is designed for convenience, with no in-unit hardware required for most customers and a simple software-based activation process.

Andrena is advancing its service model by developing the Decentralized Autonomous Wireless Network (DAWN), a protocol built on the Solana blockchain. This Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Network (DePIN) will enable a peer-to-peer marketplace where users can sell their excess internet bandwidth. Participants in the DAWN network can earn token rewards for contributing to the network's operation, such as by acting as validators or referring new users. The company has secured significant funding to develop this protocol, including a $15 million Series A round in February 2023 and an $18 million extension in August 2024, bringing its total funding to $38 million. The DAWN protocol is currently in a testnet phase, with plans to gradually migrate Andrena's existing customer base—spanning over 10,000 households across 10 U.S. states—onto the new decentralized system.