BridgeCo Closes $17M in Latest Venture Finance Round.Growth of Silicon and Software Provider Mirrors Consumer Shift From CDs to Online Audio Sources LOS ANGELES Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. -- BridgeCo Inc. (www.bridgeco.com), a leading provider of digital home networking solutions, recently closed a venture financing round. The provider of processor IC and software platforms that connect consumer electronics to computers and the Internet over home networks raised $17 million. ETV ETV abbr. educational television ETV n abbr (US) (= Educational Television) → televisión escolar ETV n abbr (US) (= Educational Television Capital joined all of BridgeCo's existing investors in this latest round. Previous investors Advent Venture Partners, Balderton Capital (formerly Benchmark Capital Benchmark Capital is a venture capital firm responsible for the early stage funding of some very successful startups, including eBay. In 1995, the firm invested $6.7 million in eBay, which became worth more than $5 billion by the spring of 1999 and resulted in one of Silicon Europe), Cipio Partners, Earlybird Venture Capital, Fidelity Ventures Fidelity Ventures is the venture capital arm of Fidelity Investments. Based in Boston and London, Fidelity Ventures invests in emerging technology companies in North America and Europe. , Intel Capital and Wellington Partners all participated. "BridgeCo has succeeded in becoming a strategic vendor to several global consumer brands, supplying key components that are embedded into flagship audio products. For these global brands, BridgeCo technology is the source of audio features that are defining the future of consumer electronics," said George Coelho, of BridgeCo investor Balderton Capital and BridgeCo's Chairman. "The investors are excited by Bridgeco's rapid growth and pre-eminent market position, and by this financing are helping it to maintain its global leadership in this market segment." In line with company growth projections, sales of BridgeCo's DMP DMP Dossier Médical Personnel (France) DMP Debt Management Plan DMP Debt Management Program DMP Digital Media Project DMP Dot Matrix Printer DMP Designated Mailer Protocol DMP Dynamic Multi-Pathing (Digital Media Player) products for mass-market consumer applications surpassed sales of products for professional and semi-professional audio applications in early 2007. The company has more than doubled both the number of DMP accounts, and the number of programs at these DMP accounts, during the past year. As consumers increasingly shift their audio purchasing from CDs to online content sources, BridgeCo DMP technology makes it possible for audio systems to access and play music downloads, streaming audio A one-way audio transmission over a data network. It is widely used on the Web as well as company networks to play audio clips and Internet radio. Computers in home networks stream audio (mostly music) to digital media hubs connected to home theaters. and Internet radio Listening to audio broadcasts via the Internet. There are more than 4,000 broadcasts available on the Internet that can be streamed and played by a software media player in the computer or in a stand-alone Internet radio with the software built in. . BridgeCo offers production-ready DMP reference designs that enable consumer electronics manufactures to quickly market new audio products that combine home networking and Internet access See how to access the Internet. capabilities with iPod interfaces, USB ports and external video displays. "The source for consumer audio content has firmly tipped from the CD to the Internet. Consumers purchase 500 million new consumer electronics products annually, and market researchers expect that at least 25 percent of these products will incorporate networking capability within a few years to access Internet-sourced content. BridgeCo enables this shift as our IC and firmware A category of memory chips that hold their content without electrical power. Firmware includes flash, ROM, PROM, EPROM and EEPROM technologies. When holding program instructions, firmware can be thought of as "hard software." See flash memory, ROM, PROM, EPROM, EEPROM and FOTA. technologies are embedded into a growing list of AVRs, stereo systems, Internet radios and Hi-Fis," said Gene Sheridan, CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. of BridgeCo. "The continued support of our entire investor base is a strong recognition of both our progress and our prospects. The market segment for consumer audio networking is rapidly realizing its potential." About BridgeCo BridgeCo, a digital entertainment networking pioneer, offers the world's most comprehensive, cost-effective and highly integrated processor and software platforms for connecting Internet media sources, computers and consumer electronics throughout the home. BridgeCo platforms are used in a wide range of innovative and legacy products produced by the multi-billion dollar global consumer electronics industry, including digital media players, audio adapters, AVRs, musical instruments and breakout boxes. Its silicon and middleware platforms were among the first anywhere to be DLNA (Digital Living Network Alliance) A coalition of computer and consumer electronics companies that was formed to ensure interoperability in home networks. [TM] CERTIFIED, and its solutions are used by leading consumer electronics manufacturers worldwide. Using BridgeCo's processor and bundled software (1) Applications that are included with new hardware. For example, a new PC often comes with several applications, many of which may be light versions or full versions with no limit on usage. Others may be only 60- or 90-day trial packages. See bundle. , OEMs can offer stand-alone media network products, or embed networking capabilities directly into consumer products, at competitive retail price points. The company also offers market-leading solutions for FireWire[TM] audio interface systems used by musicians and other content creators. BridgeCo is an ISO (1) See ISO speed. (2) (International Organization for Standardization, Geneva, Switzerland, www.iso.ch) An organization that sets international standards, founded in 1946. The U.S. member body is ANSI. 9001 and ISO 14001 certified company with operations in Los Angeles, California and Zurich, Switzerland. Its key investors include Advent Venture Partners, Balderton Capital (formerly Benchmark Capital Europe), Cipio Partners, Earlybird Venture Capital, ETV Capital, Fidelity Ventures, Intel Capital and Wellington Partners. For more information about BridgeCo, please visit www.bridgeco.com. For more information about Advent Venture Partners, please visit www.adventventures.com. For more information about Balderton Capital, please visit www.benchmark.com/europe. For more information about Cipio Partners, please visit www.cipiopartners.com. For more information about ETV Capital, please visit www.etvcapital.com. For more information about Earlybird Venture Capital, please visit www.earlybird.com. For more information about Fidelity Ventures, please visit www.fidelityventures.com. For more information about Intel Capital, please visit www.intel.com/capital. For more information about Wellington Partners, please visit www.wellington-partners.com. All trademarks and service marks are the properties of their respective owners. |
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