The problem
Regular cell networks track, store and leak who you call, text and where you are, exposing people and agencies
What they do
Privacy-first US mobile carrier running its own core and SIMs for government, business and consumers
Traction $37M revenue in 2025, up from $4.5M in 2024; 31 government contracts
Hiring trend
- Open roles
- 26
- Ops roles
- 4
- Headcount
- ~190
Headcount ~119 (Sep 2025) → ~188-192 (Aug 2026), est. +60% YoY; 26 open roles and a new Rosslyn HQ (May 2026)
Hiring in
- New York
- Arlington
- Washington, DC
- Remote
Latest news
Sep 2026
Launched Multi-Network Coverage: one number auto-switches between two national networks ↗Funding
- Last round
- $100M
- Stage
- Series C
- Date
- Mar 2026
Led by Bain Capital Ventures, IVP
- Hiring+1.526 open roles on the live job board (10–29 roles = +1.5)
- Funding recency+1.5Series C · $100M, Mar 2026 (7 months ago): 6–12 months = +1, $100M+ round +0.5
- Traction+1.5Strong growth: $37M revenue in 2025, up from $4.5M in 2024; 31 government contracts
- Red flags0Watch-outs noted below, none scored as a significant flag
- Total4.51.5 + 1.5 + 1.5 − 0 = 4.5 → Race (4.25–4.74)
Distance (Half) is a separate read on how long the lead can last. It doesn't change the score.
Distance
Half · edge: hard to leave
Clear leader in the new privacy-carrier niche, with its own mobile core (a $50M build rivals must match) and sticky defense contracts; revenue grew about 8x in 2025, but it rents radio access from the same big carriers it competes with, and R&D burn is heavy.
Sources: Forbes: Ex-Palantir exec built a $900M privacy-first cell network (Mar 2026) ↗ · Bain Capital Ventures: Cape, getting to the core of connectivity (Mar 2026) ↗ · Crossing the Valley Ep. 85: Cape, $5M seed vs $50M to go live; Navy Guam (Jun 2026) ↗
Watch-outs
Watch-out only (no score hit): a Trail of Bits audit (2026) found stored daily usage totals could be re-linked to subscribers, so Cape cut retention to 60 days and corrected its 'anonymous' claim; one subscriber has blogged unverified claims that SIM-swap and signaling protections were bypassed.
Sources: Cape: Audit of Disappearing Call Logs by Trail of Bits (Aug 2026) ↗ · Samuel Brice (Medium): subscriber's claims of a wiretapped Cape line (Feb 2026) ↗
Last checked Oct 25, 2026