Home > Ireland > Taoiseach welcomes one of the largest venture capital investments in Ireland

Taoiseach welcomes one of the largest venture capital investments in Ireland

Written by Robert McHugh, on 14th Apr 2015. Posted in Ireland

article headline

In a press release issued today, Movidius, a vision processor company serving the growing need for visual sensing in connected devices, has today announced that it has raised $40 million in funding with the creation of up to 100 jobs in Ireland.

Taoiseach, Mr Enda Kenny, TD and the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise & Innovation, Richard Bruton TD welcomed the latest round of funding for the Irish-founded company. It is one of the largest VC investments ever in Ireland for a technology company and the largest for a fabless semiconductor company in the past two years globally.

Movidius will use the financing to further drive software and hardware product innovation in visual sensing for the next wave of emerging applications, including virtual reality headsets, drones, home automation and wearables. Its technology will transform how devices and users interact with the world around them through intelligent, vision-based technology.

The investment was led by Summit Bridge Capital, the China-Ireland Growth Technology Fund co-managed by Atlantic Bridge Capital and WestSummit Capital, and includes new contributions from ARCH Venture Partners and Sunny Optical Technology Group, as well as early investors including Atlantic Bridge Capital, DFJ Esprit, Robert Bosch Venture Capital, AIB Seed Capital Fund and Capital-E.

As part of this new round, David Lam of WestSummit Capital will be joining Movidius’ board of directors.

The Taoiseach said, "The Government has a plan for sustainable full employment by 2018. Supporting cutting edge Irish companies like Movidius is essential to develop an enterprise focused economy.

The impressive $40 million investment being announced today will lead to 100 new high quality jobs being created in Ireland and will boost Irish exports in the growing computer vision technology sector. I am particularly pleased that this investment has been made under the China Ireland Growth Capital Technology Fund which will enhance the strategic relationship between our two countries."

For more visit: www.businessworld.ie