- The schtick here is customers get rewarded by using less data – in the form of cash back rewards
- Underlying the service is a desire to encourage “better human relationships with technology”
- Noble Mobile is backed by the investment firm Corazon Capital and individual investors like Scott Galloway
Former presidential candidate Andrew Yang is the CEO of Noble Mobile, a new MVNO that’s officially launching today. It uses T-Mobile’s network.
Fierce didn’t get an interview with Yang, but we talked to his former campaign manager, Zach Graumann, who serves as co-founder and president of Noble Mobile. Graumann gave us an overview of what this new MVNO is all about.
For the record, we know it’s gotten much easier to launch an MVNO (as evident by the number that are springing up), but it’s also not exactly a piece of cake. That said, Graumann confirmed that it’s a little bit easier than running for president, so there’s that.
What is Noble Mobile all about?
During his presidential run, Yang advocated for a monthly universal basic income (UBI) of $1,000. After the failed presidential campaign, he continued looking for ways to alleviate Americans’ household expenses, basically trying to make Americans “less financially miserable,” Graumann said.
When they considered places where Americans are getting gouged or overpaying, they looked at mobile data usage and the $85 to $120 people are paying every month for their cell phone bills.
“It’s becoming a commodity and we think Americans are overpaying for it,” he said.
“We’re all doom scrolling,” he added. “We started Noble Mobile because we want to sort of humanize this industry” and give consumers the flexibility of having unlimited data when they want it but cash back when they don’t need it all.
More specifically, Noble Mobile says it will offer “transparent pricing,” with no contracts or hidden fees. Consumers using less than 20 GB of monthly data receive cash back rewards, with the chance to grow their rewards by 5.5% annually. Plans start at $50/month for a single line.
“Noble Mobile flips the classic telecom model by rewarding users for less data usage,” said Scott Galloway, podcaster and Noble Mobile investor, in a statement. “It’s transparent, it’s fair, and it’s exactly what consumers deserve. I’m excited to back this disruptor.”
The details on exactly how the SIM-based service works to provide cash back are a little fuzzy, but the company explains some of it here.
T-Mobile provides the underlying network
Graumann said they looked at a lot of options in terms of how to set up the MVNO and they landed with T-Mobile. “They saw the vision that we saw and what we’re trying to do,” he said.
So far, he’s satisfied with the process. “They know there's a number of ways we can make this sort of allocation work – data wise and user wise – and we have a lot of different avenues for growth and how we do this,” he said.
“We feel good about the deal we have now with them and feel even better, frankly, about the ability to adjust it in a way that works for both of us over time,” he added.
Noble Mobile has nine full-time employees and 25 contractors. Fierce asked if it’s using a mobile virtual network enabler (MVNE), and the company said it’s working with BeQuick, which promises to help companies scale as they expand into the MVNO space.
Of course, we had to ask how they’re using AI. Graumann said they want “to be very human” so they’ll always have real people answering the phone, but they also have a “really compelling AI chat bot” that offers a faster, more efficient way for people who want to get information that way.
“Not a celebrity tequila”
As for Yang’s future political plans, that’s not entirely clear. He’s currently the founder of the Forward Party, with a stated goal of providing an alternative to the two major U.S. political parties. Yang told Politico this past summer that he’d been “in touch” with Elon Musk, who’s also sought to upend America’s political system (and happens to be getting more involved in the wireless space.)
But Graumann said Yang’s main role right now is being CEO of Noble Mobile – and they know what they’re getting into. It isn’t about slapping a name on a mobile company and expecting people to switch to their service because they like someone’s podcast or their political views.
“This is not a celebrity tequila,” he said, although he later revised that somewhat by acknowledging that some celebrity liquors are developed and finessed over a number of years before they’re brought to market.
His point? “This is a real, well-funded, well invested tech company,” he said.
So far, Noble Mobile has raised $10.3 million in a financing round led by Corazon Capital. Besides Galloway and Corazon Capital partner Phil Schwarz, other major investors include Circle Ventures, Idea Fund Partners, Oversubscribed Ventures, Hustle Fund, Brown Angel Group, Acquired Wisdom Fund, Jim McKelvey (founder of Square) and David Ko (CEO of Calm and member of the NYU Board of Trustees.)
A crowded MVNO space
Yang and his investors certainly aren’t alone in their desire to recast the wireless industry with well-known celebrity names.
In June, actors and podcasters Jason Bateman, Sean Hayes and Will Arnett launched SmartLess Mobile with promises to “end the B.S.” and not make people overpay for their mobile data. Soon after, the Trump Organization launched Trump Mobile, pledging to upturn the mobile industry with phones specially made for fans of President Trump.
Graumann said Noble Mobile has been in the works since about April 2024, so it’s not as if they’re coming out of the blue. “We think a lot of the perspective we can bring might be helpful to this industry and we do want to change it,” he said.
“People like their smartphone. They just want a better relationship with it,” he said.