Welcome back to the EUVC Podcast where we dive deep into the craft of building and backing venture-scale companies in Europe.
Roaming is one of those problems everyone accepts… until they travel. You land, your phone lights up, and suddenly you’re making tradeoffs:
Do I buy a local SIM?
Do I risk the roaming bill?
Do I go dark and live on WiFi?
Do I lose my number for a week?
And here’s the weird thing:
This isn’t a technical limitation anymore. It’s an industry workflow problem.
Today we’re joined by Ali Gazioglu, founder of Roamless, a company building what they believe is the next logical evolution of telecom: a truly global mobile operator starting with global data and expanding into numbers, voice, and messaging, so your mobile plan travels with you everywhere.
Ali just announced a $12M Series A, backed by Shuruk, Revo, and Ross Maldentis, to accelerate that mission.
We go deep into the product, the technical stack under the hood, why eSIM adoption is the biggest unlock, and how Roamless collaborates with telcos instead of trying to replace them.
Let’s dive in.
Here’s what’s covered:
01:05 | What Roamless is building: the first truly global mobile operator (starting with data, expanding into numbers, voice & messaging)
01:58 | The technical “how”: why Roamless isn’t just reselling eSIMs, but building their own telecom stack
02:09 | Ali’s founder story: 15 years in telco infrastructure + living the problem across 65 countries
05:29 | The real challenges: building a telco stack from scratch and scaling eSIM education market-by-market
07:46 | Why eSIM adoption is still slow and why it’s starting to accelerate now
09:59 | Roamless’ strategy: partner with telcos to build an international-first operator
11:44 | What the $12M will fund: global hiring + localized marketing + expansion into numbers/voice/SMS
13:16 | How AI is changing execution: speed in product, faster content creation, and higher output per person
15:03 | Hiring in the AI era: why curiosity and ability to leverage new tools matter across every function
✍️ Show Notes
Roamless: The Operator Built for the Global Life
Roamless is building what most telcos were never designed to be:
A mobile operator that works globally by default.
Not a roaming bundle.
Not a travel SIM card hack.
Not an “install this eSIM when you land.”
A service where your connectivity just follows you.
Roamless started with global data and is now expanding into:
international phone numbers
voice calling
messaging (SMS + more)
a full connectivity layer for travelers, expats, and anyone operating across borders
The vision is simple:
You shouldn’t have to “think about roaming” in 2026.
Why Roaming Is Still Broken
Roaming isn’t hard because the technology doesn’t exist.
It’s hard because the industry was built around:
national operators
physical SIM distribution
pricing models optimized for domestic retention
fragmented infrastructure between countries
In other words:
Roaming is a business model artifact, not a technical reality.
That’s what eSIMs are changing.
The Founders’ Edge: 15 Years Inside Telecom Infrastructure
Ali isn’t an outsider looking at telecom as a consumer pain.
He’s built the underlying infrastructure for the industry:
management software
network software
international voice and messaging rails
enterprise telco deployments
He’s spent 15 years working directly with operators, and he’s lived the problem personally, traveling constantly and getting punished by roaming bills.
That combination created the “now we build it” moment:
We understand the networks — and we feel the pain.
What Makes Roamless Different
A lot of “global connectivity startups” start by reselling eSIM plans.
Roamless did something harder:
They built their own telecom tech stack.
Why?
Because a global operator needs control over:
service design
product roadmap
pricing mechanics
expansion into numbers/voice/SMS
the long-term ability to unify global connectivity
Roamless isn’t trying to be the nicest UI on top of old infrastructure.
They’re building the infrastructure.
The Go-To-Market Reality: eSIM Education Is Still the Bottleneck
Even though eSIMs are becoming mainstream, adoption is uneven.
Two reasons:
Device penetration is still low
iPhone had early eSIM support
Android adoption lagged
Many regions still have a heavy mix of older devices
Consumer awareness is still behind
In many developing markets, people simply don’t know what eSIM is yet or how to use it.
That makes Roamless’ go-to-market challenge fundamentally educational.
But the trend line is clear:
As more phones ship eSIM-only (especially in the US and premium Android), the market accelerates automatically.
A Collaboration Play, Not a Telco-Killer Play
Ali is explicit about the strategic positioning:
Roamless isn’t trying to replace telcos.
They’re collaborating with them to offer something telcos struggle to productize: international-first connectivity.
Telcos have begun shifting their view of eSIM from “threat” to “opportunity” and Roamless is positioning itself as the partner that builds the global layer on top.
What the $12M Series A Funds
Ali breaks the next chapter into two clear buckets:
1) Global Hiring
Roamless is serving a global customer base and wants the team to reflect that.
The focus areas:
product
engineering
marketing
and global talent across the board
2) Localized Marketing
Scaling adoption isn’t just buying global ads.
It’s:
localized content
market-by-market education
experimentation and creative iteration
building awareness where eSIM understanding is still low
AI Is Changing Execution Speed (and Hiring Requirements)
Ali shares two practical ways AI is impacting Roamless already:
Internal operations:
faster dev cycles
better testing and product management workflows
more output per engineer
Go-to-market:
faster content production
localized creative
rapid A/B iteration and market learning
And it’s reshaping what “great talent” looks like:
Core experience still matters — but curiosity and tool leverage is now the multiplier.
Where Roamless Is Going Next
Roamless is close to a major product milestone: numbers launching soon, enabling:
voice
messaging
global phone number ownership across countries
And ultimately moving toward the full goal:
A global operator where roaming disappears.
💡 Founder Takeaway
The roaming market is massive but the winning wedge isn’t a travel plan.
It’s infrastructure.
Roamless is building the global layer telcos never shipped.
And the timing is perfect:
eSIM adoption is accelerating
consumer behavior is globalizing
and AI is amplifying execution speed across product and growth
If you want to build a global connectivity business, 2026 is the moment.
