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.
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.
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 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.
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.
Welcoming the announcement yesterday, Minister for Business, Enterprise, and Innovation, Heather Humphreys said, "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."
Source: www.businessworld.ie