| WiSpry, Inc., the fabless semiconductor company developing dynamically tunable radio frequency integrated circuits (RFIC) for wireless devices, has closed a $13.5-million Series B round of financing, led by new company investor L Capital Partners. Participating in the round was other new investor Hotung Capital Management and existing investors American River Ventures, Blueprint Ventures, In-Q-Tel, Tech Coast Angels and Western Technology Investment. Says WiSpry co-founder and CEO Jeff Hilbert: “The company’s patented CMOS-compatible manufacturing process makes us the first fabless semiconductor company to enable high-volume, low-cost commercial production of fully integrated RF-MEMS (micro-electro-mechanical systems) devices. As a result, we will deliver next-generation performance at prices competitive with traditional integrated circuits. “The financing will fund continued growth as we ramp the development, production and sales of our integrated RF-MEMS-enabled CMOS products for the mobile handset market,” he continues, adding that the company’s proprietary products “will eliminate the need for multiple RF paths required in multi-standard, multi-band applications, including ‘global’ mobile phones, mobile wireless subsystems and wireless base stations.” John Levy, partner, L Capital Partners, says: “There is a huge market opportunity with the trend toward multi-standard, multi-band wireless devices. While wireless industry standards continue to evolve and grow in number and complexity, WiSpry’s products have proven compatible with GSM, CDMA, W-CDMA, Wi-Fi/WiMAX and WiBro standards, and optimally function at more and higher frequencies than products on the market today. “Working with the top handset manufacturers, WiSpry has achieved impressive milestones in reliability, testing and packaging,” continues Levy, who heads the technology sector investment team at the venture firm. “This is what convinced us that their products could be successfully commercialized.” Says Hilbert: “WiSpry has seen rapid acceptance of its innovative RF-MEMS solutions in the past year. Its initial products, which are based on proprietary tunable-MEMS digital capacitors that can be configured and assembled into products for matching, filtering and switching of RF signals, dynamically reconfigure the RF front end of an individual’s mobile phone to operate at optimal efficiency and provide the highest quality of service.” Tuning, he explains, is carried out under the control of software inside the handset and in response to interactions between each mobile phone, its immediate environment and nearby wireless network base stations. Adds Hilbert: “In an industry that demands high reliability and fast product–cycle times, WiSpry’s modular designs can be easily assembled and custom platforms can be created with improved scalability to handle new frequencies and functions without a complete redesign. WiSpry’s tunable products also make it easier for mobile handset and other wireless-device manufacturers to establish standardized hardware platforms, components, and reference designs across their product lines. “This latest investment, which is testament to the confidence that both our new and existing investors have in the company, will support WiSpry as it enters the next stage of growth and moves its initial products into the market,” Hilbert says. About WiSpry WiSpry’s expertise in RF semiconductors enables it to create and develop unique RF solutions enabled by MEMS technology that exceed the stringent performance, cost, size and power characteristics demanded in today’s mobile phone handset marketplace. WiSpry’s proprietary solutions for matching, tuning, and switching RF signals can be packaged into such products as tunable RF front ends, tunable antennas and tunable power amplifiers. WiSpry’s tunable digital capacitors can be assembled into various configurations to create custom products for mobile-phone and other wireless-device manufacturers. WiSpry’s products enable the architectural innovations required to meet the growing challenges in mobile communications networks. About L Capital Partners L Capital Partners, L.P., is a midsized venture-capital firm with $165 million under management. The firm is, in general, a development- and later-stage investor interested in diversified companies within emerging industries or in emerging companies within mature industries. L Capital Partners, which currently has 10 portfolio companies, also seeks higher-risk opportunities with companies involved in developing transformational products or services regardless of the industry stage. Focused on technology and healthcare companies, the firm is a committed multi-round investor. To avail itself of the wide range of tech innovation in Israel, the Manhattan-based firm has an office in Tel Aviv. L Capital Partners is licensed by the SBA as a Small Business Investment Company. For more information about L Capital Partners, go to www.lcapitalpartners.com. |
