picoChip Secures $20.5 Million in Third Round Funding; SEP, Intel and Rothschild Investment Places the Company as Best Funded WiMAX Private Company
BATH, England—(BUSINESS WIRE)—June 22, 2005—
picoChip, a leading supplier of wireless silicon
solutions, announced that it has secured $20.5 million in its third
round of funding. New lead investor Scottish Equity Partners is joined
by Rothschild and Intel Capital, along with previous investors Pond
Venture Partners and Atlas Venture. The new funding will be used to
support the company's growth in next-generation wireless silicon and
software.
Guillaume d'Eyssautier, President and CEO of picoChip, commented,
"We are very excited about the addition of our new strategic funding
partners to our existing loyal investors. The quality of our backers
is an endorsement of our leading position in WiMAX. We will use this
funding to expand on picoChip's success in WiMAX and deliver products
for WCDMA, TD-SCDMA and other wireless markets."
Stuart Paterson, a Director in SEP's Information Technology Group,
said, "We are delighted to be investing in an industry leader such as
picoChip. SEP has had a track record of successful investments in
stellar companies such as Cambridge Silicon Radio (CSR) and Wolfson;
we are confident that picoChip will follow the same model of success."
"Intel clearly believes in ubiquitous broadband wireless
communications, with the appropriate standards-based technology
fitting the need," said Sriram Viswanathan, Managing Director of Intel
Capital's mobility initiative. picoChip's silicon is flexible enough
to address multiple wireless standards, including WiMAX, and support
operator's requirements for offering voice, video data and services,
and mobility. "We are pleased to be investing in picoChip to support
efforts of providing customers with a flexible and upgradeable WiMAX
solution."
The round, which brings total company funding to $41.5 million, is
a significant boost for picoChip towards extending its leadership as a
wireless semiconductor vendor. d'Eyssautier concludes, "This funding,
along with our major design wins and rapidly growing revenue, will
take us comfortably to the point of profitability and position us well
for success."
picoChip stands to benefit from large and growing market
opportunities in wireless semiconductors. Research firm W R Hambrecht
& Co recently described WiMAX as "one of the most exciting markets for
semiconductors today" (WiMAX: The next era in Broadband access, April
05).
Founded in 2000, picoChip has developed the world's highest
performance DSP tuned for wireless, and is a supplier of complete
reference designs for WiMAX and HSDPA. picoChip technology is being
used by Intel in its Glenfield board, which is sold for use in WiMAX
basestations, and Airspan. Airspan has recently won WiMAX contracts
from Marconi and Fujitsu. In addition, picoChip has a number of
strategic customers and partners for both WiMAX and 3G, including Tier
One manufacturers, and is fast becoming the industry standard for
next-generation wireless infrastructure. The company recently won a
place in this year's prestigious "Fierce 15", recognising the fifteen
most significant private companies in the wireless area.
Editor's Note: picoArray is a registered trademark of picoChip.
About picoChip
picoChip, located in Bath, England, is dedicated to providing
innovative, flexible wireless solutions to help equipment makers
minimize time-to-market, costs, and system power consumption.
At the heart of the company's offering is a scaleable,
multi-processor baseband IC that combines the computational density of
a dedicated ASIC with the programmability of a traditional high end
Digital Signal Processor. The picoChip technology platform includes
tools, development boards and reference designs, and proven IP for
seamless integration with the radio frequency elements of a base
station. Equipment based on picoChip technology will enable telecom
operators to remotely re-configure and upgrade their equipment without
the high costs of replacing obsolete hardware.
picoChip currently has a development team with a balanced mix of
hardware and software engineers of outstanding ability and experience;
spanning such diverse fields as communications system design, software
development, computer architecture, digital signal processing, RF
design, and silicon design.
The company was founded in September 2000 and is backed by SEP,
Rothschild, Intel Capital, Pond Venture Partners and Atlas Venture.
About Scottish Equity Partners
Scottish Equity Partners (SEP) is one of the largest independent
private equity groups in the UK, and is currently investing from a
venture capital fund in excess of GBP 100 million, which is backed by
leading UK and European institutional investors.
Typically, we invest between GBP 500,000 and GBP 5 million in
early stage and growing companies, principally in the information
technology, healthcare & life sciences and energy related technology
sectors.
With offices in Glasgow and London, SEP is one of the most active
venture capital investors in the UK and has a strong investment track
record, identifying companies with high potential at an early stage
and working with them to realise that potential as they face the
challenges of building a successful business.
Recent high profile successes include Wolfson Microelectronics,
which achieved a valuation of GBP 250 million when it floated and
bluetooth specialist CSR, which floated last year with a market
capitalisation at launch of approximately GBP 240 million. For further
information, see our website www.sep.co.uk
About Intel and Intel Capital
Intel, the world's largest chip maker, is also a leading
manufacturer of computer, networking and communications products.
Additional information about Intel is available at
www.intel.com/pressroom. Intel Capital, Intel's strategic investment
program, focuses on making equity investments and acquisitions to grow
the Internet economy in support of Intel's strategic interests. Intel
Capital invests in hardware, software and services companies in
several market segments, including computing, networking, and wireless
communications. For more information, visit www.intel.com/capital.
About Rothschild
The Rothschild Group has been at the center of the world's
financial markets for over 200 years.
Its Paris-based Venture Capital team manages funds backed by
leading European institutional investors. The team invests in
first-class international projects led by exceptional entrepreneurs,
in the Telecom, Semiconductor/EDA, Software and MedTech sectors. It
invests between $1 million and $10 million to support companies
through all phases of their growth.
The team provides insights and expertise through its
entrepreneurial and operational background and its access to the
worldwide Rothschild network.
Contact:
picoChip Designs Limited
Rupert Baines, +44 (0)1225 469 744
Email Contact
http://www.picoChip.com
or
Publitek Limited
Oliver Davies, +44 (0)1225 470 000
Email Contact
http://www.publitek.com
