A Wilmington-based technology company has raised $650,000 in equity from nine investors, according to a recent Securities and Exchange Commission filing.

CloudWyze, based at 720 N. Third St. in downtown Wilmington, filed the Form D on Jan. 24 with the intention of eventually raising $2 million. 

Founded in 2012, CloudWyze offers internet and other technology services.

Shaun Olsen, president and CEO of CloudWyze, said the funding is being used to support the growth of the company.

He said the firm's mission has expanded to support the rural communities that lack broadband access.

“We’re pursuing additional grants to bring service into more rural communities in North Carolina,” Olsen said Tuesday. “Those are state, local and federal grants. That all takes capital...most grants have [required] matches.”

In 2018, Nash County officials approved a $2 million contract with CloudWyze to provide broadband service to unserved and underserved areas.

The next year, the Wilmington firm was awarded a $1.5 million state grant to expand internet service in Halifax County, one of the state’s most economically disadvantaged counties.

The grant is part of the state’s Growing Rural Economies with Access to Technology (GREAT) program, which provides matching grants to internet service providers and electric membership cooperatives. The money aims to lower financial barriers that prevent high-speed internet expansion in Tier 1 counties, according to a news release last year.

In Nash County, “We’ve completed the pilot program, Phase 1, and we’ve rolled into Phase 2 of expanding service across the county,” Olsen said, “and, now we’re tying in our Halifax network buildout further expanding access for those who are underserved.”

According to a Jan. 22 story in The Wilson Times, Nash County staff members were creating a list of government buildings, health care facilities, schools and farms in need of broadband as part of the CloudWyze project.