Nova Labs
Nova Labs runs the Helium wireless network, renting out ~140K hotspots for carrier data offload.
On the record
Checkpoint: Noble Mobile's decision on whether to expand or exit its Helium Network routing commitment
The call
Nova Labs kept its hotspot network and carrier deals but sold off its consumer mobile business, leaving a smaller, thinner revenue base tied to one new MVNO partner's commitment.
Nova Labs built a network of about 140,000 small cell towers that help phone carriers handle data traffic, backed by long-term contracts with AT&T and Telefónica. The physical network is hard to rebuild from scratch, but the company just sold off its biggest moneymaker (Helium Mobile, which brought in $2.5 million monthly) to a brand-new phone company called Noble Mobile, leaving only a thin $17 million yearly business. The founder left, the company's crypto token crashed 96 to 99 percent, and the whole reward system that motivated people to build the network in the first place has basically evaporated. The one thing that determines whether Nova survives or dies in the next six months is whether Noble Mobile actually keeps using Helium's network to route its phone calls and data, or backs out of the deal.
Why
01
AI pressure: None apparent. No AI product currently targets Helium's hotspot offload business; the pressure here is financial and structural, not AI driven. Could AI do the core job? Unlikely.
02
Bigger players: T-Mobile/SpaceX Starlink Direct to Cell. Satellite-to-phone service from T-Mobile and Starlink offers carriers an offload alternative that bypasses ground hotspots entirely. Could a giant copy it? Probably.
03
What protects it. Physical footprint of ~140K hotspots plus multi-year carrier deals with AT&T and Telefónica are hard for a new entrant to replicate quickly.
What would change this call
Whether Noble Mobile expands or reduces Helium Network routing commitments within 6 months. Shows if Nova Labs' remaining carrier-offload revenue is growing or collapsing.
Whether Nova Labs secures a new priced funding round at or above 1.2 billion dollars. Would confirm investor confidence versus the reported 58 percent secondary-market markdown.
Whether HNT token price stabilizes or falls further below 0.18 dollars in the next year. Indicates whether the incentive model funding hotspot growth is sustainable or unraveling.
Whether Nova Labs secures a new priced funding round at or above 1.2 billion dollars. Would confirm investor confidence versus the reported 58 percent secondary-market markdown.
Whether HNT token price stabilizes or falls further below 0.18 dollars in the next year. Indicates whether the incentive model funding hotspot growth is sustainable or unraveling.
Key numbers
- ~$17M annualized carrier-offload revenue post Helium Mobile sale
- $200K SEC settlement over false customer claims
- Telefónica Mexico offload trial covers ~2M subscribers
Named risks
- Core token HNT down ~99% from peak, undermining the hotspot incentive model that built the network.
- Carrier-offload revenue continuity now depends on a 2025-founded MVNO's (Noble Mobile) discretion.
- New, publicly untested CEO Mario Di Dio in role since June 2026 amid founder departure.
- 2025 SEC enforcement action over misrepresented partnerships remains a reputational overhang.
- Small team of roughly 30 employees after October 2024 layoffs and 2026 divestiture limits execution capacity.
Rivals, as read in July 2026
| Rival | Direction | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Roam | gaining on | Vendor-adjacent Bitrue blog claimed Roam surpassed Helium's node count by 2026-02-10 |
| Pollen Mobile | contesting | Competing 5G decentralized wireless (DeWi) network tracked alongside Helium |
| XNET and Dabba Network | contesting | Rival wireless-offload DePIN protocols tracked in Solana DePIN revenue reports as of 2026-05-21 |
| AI-compute DePIN (Akash, io.net, Render) | gaining on | Investor capital and attention rotating toward AI-compute DePIN narratives over wireless DePIN by mid-2026 |
| Google Fi, Mint Mobile, US Mobile | gaining on | Recommended as Helium Mobile alternatives after its June 2026 sale to Noble Mobile |
Questions people ask
- Is Nova Labs profitable in 2026?
- Nova Labs does not publicly report consolidated profit. Its former consumer arm Helium Mobile, sold to Noble Mobile on June 2, 2026, had not reached standalone profitability despite ~540,000 to 600,000 subscribers and up to $2.5M monthly revenue in March 2026.
- Did Nova Labs sell Helium Mobile?
- Yes. On June 2, 2026, Nova Labs divested its consumer-facing MVNO Helium Mobile to Noble Mobile, a carrier founded in 2025 by Andrew Yang. Nova Labs retained the underlying Helium Network and its carrier-offload business, while HNT and MOBILE tokens stayed with the separate Helium DAO.
- Who is Nova Labs' biggest competitor?
- Rival DePIN wireless protocol Roam claimed to have surpassed Helium in hotspot node count by early 2026, per a vendor-adjacent Bitrue blog post dated 2026-02-10. Nova Labs also competes with Pollen Mobile, XNET, and Dabba Network in decentralized wireless offload.
- Is the HNT token collapsing?
- Yes. HNT traded around $0.18 to $0.26 through mid to late 2026, down roughly 96 to 99 percent from its November 2021 all-time high of $48.80, as reported by AInvest on 2026-06-29, reflecting structural sell-pressure in Helium's reward-emission model.
- Who owns Nova Labs?
- Nova Labs is privately held, last raising a $200M Series D in March 2022 at a $1.2B post-money valuation led by Tiger Global and Andreessen Horowitz, with Nokia, Deutsche Telekom, and Alexis Ohanian also participating. No new priced funding round has been reported since.
- Could AI replace Nova Labs' business?
- Not directly. Nova Labs runs a physical wireless network of roughly 140,000 hotspots with signed carrier contracts (AT&T, Telefonica), a hardware and spectrum business outside generative AI's reach. Its main AI-adjacent risk is investor capital rotating toward AI-compute DePIN projects instead.
Timeline
- 2026-07-17Nova Labs CLO testifies to House advocating regulatory clarity for DePIN infrastructure
- 2026-07-08Redondo Beach, CA municipal pilot launches with about 2,000 daily users
- 2026-06-29HNT trades around $0.18 to $0.26, down about 99% from 2021 peak of $48.80
- 2026-06-05Founder Amir Haleem steps down as CEO to Chairman; Mario Di Dio becomes CEO
- 2026-06-02Nova Labs sells Helium Mobile MVNO to Andrew Yang's Noble Mobile
- 2026-05-25CEO Haleem calls early Helium Mobile free-plan users 'parasites' on Discord
- 2026-04-20Helium Mobile monthly revenue hits record $2.5M
- 2025-04-24SEC v. Nova Labs settles for $200,000, most claims dismissed with prejudice
- 2025-01HIP 138 consolidates IOT and MOBILE sub-tokens back toward HNT
- 2022-03-30Nova Labs raises $200M Series D at $1.2B valuation, becomes unicorn
Revision history
29 July 2026
First assessed. Losing its protection. The text above is fixed as of this date and is not edited afterwards.
In the same band
Sources
- Nova Labs Raises $200M in Series D Funding; Valued at $1.2 Billion (2022-03-30)
- Helium changes name to Nova Labs (2022-03-30)
- Company Profile (2026-06-30)
- Helium Mobile's Monthly Revenue Hits $2.5M (2026-04-20)
- Helium Reaches 3.3M All-Time High in Daily Users (2026-02-20)
- Noble Mobile Acquires Helium Mobile (2026-06-03)
- Andrew Yang's upstart cell phone business acquires Helium Mobile (2026-06-02)
- Helium (HNT) Slides 7% (2026-07-08)
- SEC.gov | Nova Labs, Inc. (2025-04-24)
- Helium Crypto Wireless Network Founders Raise $200M (2022-03-30)
- Amir Haleem Steps Down as CEO of Nova Labs as HNT Falls 99% From Peak (2026-06-05)
- Helium's Growth Problem (2026-06-29)