picoChip was founded in September 2000 and received $7M first round investment from Atlas Venture and Pond Venture Partners Ltd in June 2001. $17M Second round funding was invested in October 2003 by Atlas and Pond.
picoChip secured 3rd round funding of $20.5 million in June 2005. New lead investor Scottish Equity Partners was joined by Rothschild and Intel, along with previous investors Pond Venture Partners and Atlas Venture. This was followed by additional investment from AT&T in February 2006.
A fourth round of $27M was raised in June 2007, with Highland Capital Partners as new lead investor and existing investors.
Sean Dalton, Managing General Partner at Highland Capital Partners, commented, "picoChip has clearly demonstrated its industry leadership in WiMAX and femtocell over the last 18 months. We are excited to be working with a proven management team and a company that has emerged as a leader in two market segments."
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."
Atlas Venture
Atlas Venture is the leading international early-stage venture capital firm, investing in communications, information technology and life sciences companies. With investing offices in Boston, London, Munich and Paris, Atlas Venture divides its investments between the United States and Europe.
Founded in 1980, Atlas Venture has organized six international funds, and currently manages $2.1 billion in committed capital. The Atlas Venture investment team is comprised of seasoned operating executives and career venture capitalists who have been deeply involved in the formation and development of more than 300 companies worldwide. For more information about Atlas Venture, go to www.atlasventure.com.
For more information please see www.atlasventure.com.
Pond Venture Partners
Pond Venture Partners Ltd. manages venture capital funds exclusively targeting early-stage technology companies in the UK and Europe. By working closely with founders and management to add value to its companies, through customer introductions at senior levels, helping establish US and Japanese operations, and managing subsequent venture rounds, Pond is bringing Silicon Valley-style venture capital to Europe. With offices in London, Silicon Valley and Tokyo, Pond has $90 million under management. Pond is regulated by IMRO.
For more information please see www.pondventures.com.
Highland Capital Partners
Highland Capital Partners was founded with the mission of helping great people build great companies. Since its inception in 1988, the firm has taken a sector-focused approach to investing in exceptional information technology, communications and healthcare companies. With more than $2.6 billion of committed capital, Highland has invested in and worked to create such firms as Altiga Networks, Ask Jeeves, Avid Technology, Be Free, CheckFree, Conor Medsystems, Continental Cable, EXACT Sciences, Lycos, MapQuest, New Oak Communications, Ocular Networks, Odyssey Healthcare, Starent Networks, Sybase, Telica, VistaPrint and WebLine Communications.
For more information, visit Highland's web site at www.hcp.com.
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 £100 million, which is backed by leading UK and European institutional investors.
Typically, we invest between £500,000 and £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 £250 million when it floated and bluetooth specialist CSR, which floated last year with a market capitalisation at launch of approximately £240 million.
For further information, see our website www.sep.co.uk
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.
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.
AT&T
For more than 125 years, AT&T (NYSE 'T') has been known for unparalleled quality and reliability in communications. Backed by the research and development capabilities of AT&T Labs, the company is a global leader in local, long distance, Internet and transaction-based voice and data services. The investment is from a strategic venture fund the company has established to make equity investments in early-stage companies whose technologies directly support AT&TŐs strategic networking objectives.
