22nd February 2018
Investment will help meet international market demand for exciting technology and accelerate development of second-generation chip for consumer and automotive applications
DecaWave, an indigenous Irish fabless semi-conductor company specializing in precise location and connectivity applications, has announced the closure of a $30 million funding round from leading venture capital funds, Enterprise Ireland and existing investors.
Led by Atlantic Bridge Ventures (Irl), the round also includes the China Ireland Growth Technology Fund (China), ACT Venture Capital (Irl) and ZZ Ventures (China). The latest commitment was welcomed today by Minister for Business, Enterprise, and Innovation Heather Humphreys and brings total funding to date for DecaWave to $60 million.
The company, which recently opened offices in Silicon Valley, California and Shenzhen, China, has also announced the creation of an additional 100 posts over the next three years, bringing to 150 the total number of employees at the company’s operations in Ireland, France, China and South Korea. The posts will be in engineering, R&D, sales & marketing and applications, with recruitment already underway.
The funds will be used to accelerate the development of DecaWave’s second-generation solution to address the demand in the high-volume consumer and automotive markets. It will also allow DecaWave to further expand its presence in China, where it faces strong demand for its technology. The investment will also see Brian Long and Gerry Maguire of Atlantic Bridge and John Flynn of ACT Venture Capital join the board.
DecaWave offers Ultra-Wideband (UWB) wireless technology that provides precise location and connectivity for applications that can identify the specific location of any object, person, or place within centimeters. By enabling advanced analytics for factory automation, logistics, hospitals to securing car access communication to delivering new forms of user interface in robotics and connected homes, the DecaWave technology has already revolutionized many industries.
Founded in 2007 by Ciaran Connell, CEO, and Michael McLaughlin, CTO, DecaWave has seen significant traction in the market, with more than 3,000 customers leveraging its UWB technology since launching its flagship product – DW1000 – in 2013. The DecaWave technology is already in production at Tier One consumer and automotive customers, with more than four million units sold to date.
Global excitement around DecaWave’s technology was reflected in early December when it was selected as the ‘Start-Up to Watch Award’ winner at the prestigious Global Semiconductor Alliance (GSA) Private Awards Committee in California as the 2017. The awards sees venture capitalists and select industry entrepreneurs identify a company that has demonstrated the potential to positively change its market or the industry through the innovative use of semiconductor technology or a new application for semiconductor technology.
Welcoming the announcement Minister Humphreys said: "One of the key goals of our jobs strategy is supporting a strong indigenous enterprise base, in this instance principally through Enterprise Ireland funding and support in Ireland and in International markets. The remarkable potential global impact of DecaWave is a striking example of how that strategy is succeeding. It is the archetypal emerging Irish technology company; developing disruptive technologies that are going to have a ubiquitous global imprint and highlights the international standing of Ireland as a hub for smart technology companies. I am delighted to see the involvement again of the China Ireland Growth Technology Fund in supporting a scaling Irish company and accessing the gateway to one of the world’s largest markets, China.”
Said Ciaran Connell, DecaWave CEO and co-founder: “The adoption of DecaWave technology in high-volume consumer and automotive applications is a major milestone for DecaWave. Our vision has always been that our technology would play a key role in enabling the Internet of Things by accurately providing the ‘Where’ functionality for applications. This location capability is key to driving efficiencies in industrial markets, designing new context-based user interfaces in consumer applications, guiding robots or building secure communication protocols. This funding allows us to accelerate our technology development to offer even tighter integration, lower power and more affordable solutions.”
Said Graeme N. Walker, CFO, DecaWave: “Today’s funding provides us with the opportunity to expand the company’s product portfolio as well as build out our global engineering and sales teams,”
Said former General Manager of Intel Ireland and Chairman of DecaWave Jim O’Hara: “This is one of the most exciting technology companies to emerge from Ireland over the past decade. It is turning heads internationally, getting strong market traction, not least in China, and with some premium global brands. This funding round and involvement of the stellar partners in it will ensure the very promising DecaWave trajectory is accelerated.”
Said Gerry Maguire, General Partner of Atlantic Bridge, which led the investment and jointly manages the China Ireland Growth Technology Fund: “We have a track record of supporting Irish companies through key stages of development and helping them commercialise their technology globally. DecaWave is among the most exciting companies we have worked with and is already making significant market inroads with leading global brands. Its potential is vast and we believe it will become the most talked about Irish fabless semiconductor companies of the decade.”
Said Julie Sinnamon, CEO Enterprise Ireland: “Since 2004, Enterprise Ireland has worked intensively with DecaWave to support this visionary company through key development stages and to scale and achieve international growth. DecaWave is a great example of the vibrancy across the export focussed Irish startup eco system that drive exports and employment. Companies like DecaWave can be held as an example to every entrepreneur and ambitious company, that it is possible to build globally successful companies from Ireland.”
ENDS For further information please contact please contact Press Office, D/Business, Enterprise and Innovation press.office@dbei.gov.ie or ph 6312200
About DecaWave
DecaWave is a pioneering fabless semiconductor company developing a family of integrated circuit products, compliant to the IEEE802.15.4a standard, which can identify the specific location of any object, person or thing with a level of precision and reliability never achieved before. In addition, the data communication capability of the chip makes it a perfect fit for IOT applications and other low-power wireless network applications.
With applications in diverse markets including automotive, robotics, connected home, phone accessories, factory and building automation, Logistics… the company's flagship DW1000 chip has garnered interest from more than 3,000 firms globally. DecaWave is headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, with offices in China, USA, and South Korea.
For more information please visit http://www.decawave.com
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