SiConnect Receives Working Silicon for First Powerline Transceiver and Further Funding.SWINDON, England -- In-home powerline communications start-up SiConnect has announced it has received first-time working silicon for its first powerline transceiver from the foundry, and is ready to start benchmarking the device. The news coincides with the announcement of a further investment in the company of [pounds sterling]2.8 million from existing investors Esprit Capital Partners, TTP TTP (thymidine triphosphate): see thymine. Ventures and Dow Venture Capital. Targeting a range of in-home audio/video applications, including the distribution of triple play services, SiConnect is now on course to be sampling its first product during Q4 '2006 and moving to volume availability in Q1 '2007. The company selected Chartered Semiconductor's 0.18-micron HV CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) Pronounced "c-moss." The most widely used integrated circuit design. It is found in almost every electronic product from handheld devices to mainframes. process for its first chip implementation and Unisem for die packaging. Announced earlier in the year, SiConnect's POEM[TM] technology promises to bring a wide range of benefits to the powerline communications arena, including managed QoS, a true plug and play user experience, privacy protection, full compliance with global EMC (1) (EMC Corporation, Hopkinton, MA, www.emc.com) The leading supplier of storage products for midrange computers and mainframes. Founded in 1979 by Richard J. Egan and Roger Marino, EMC has developed advanced storage and retrieval technologies for the world's largest companies. regulations, and a $5 chip price. SiConnect's VP Engineering, Paul Nickson commented, "POEM technology provides an incredible amount of leading-edge functionality and implementing it in what is a highly reliable and mature process has proven to be the right route for us to take, both in terms of quality and cycle time. We have been delighted with our partnership with Chartered Semiconductor and Unisem in delivering first-time working silicon." Russell Haggar of Esprit Capital Partners said, "The investors are excited about SiConnect's prospects and are pleased to be able to support it by investing further in what is a trailblazing trail·blaz·ing adj. Suggestive of one that blazes a trail; setting out in a promising new direction; pioneering or innovative: trailblazing research; a trailblazing new technique. company that has very successfully produced its first chip. SiConnect now has the momentum and the resources with which to further develop its marketing, sales and customer support network and to launch a market-leading powerline communications product." About SiConnect: SiConnect provides market leading powerline communications (PLC) technology for home networking applications. Its innovative silicon and software solutions enable existing domestic electrical wiring Electrical wiring in general refers to insulated conductors used to carry electricity, and associated devices. This article describes general aspects of electrical wiring as used to provide power in buildings and structures, commonly referred to as building wiring. to be used to transport audio, video, voice and data throughout the home. Working in partnership with the world's blue chip telecommunication operators, cable companies and consumer electronics manufacturers, SiConnect is creating new benchmarks for PLC technology that achieve all capacity, reliability, ease of use and cost point goals. To date, more than 150 man-years have been invested in the company's PLC technology. SiConnect is a fabless semiconductor company A fabless semiconductor company specializes in the design and sale of hardware devices implemented on semiconductor chips. It achieves an advantage by outsourcing the fabrication of the devices to a specialized semiconductor manufacturer called a semiconductor foundry or "fab. head quartered in Swindon in the UK. About Esprit Capital Partners: Esprit Capital Partners ("Esprit") is the new independent venture capital fund manager created by the merger in June 2006 of the Prelude Ventures and Cazenove Private Equity teams. The combined team has invested in many of Europe's most successful venture exits of recent years, including the sales of KVS KVS Koninklijke Vlaamse Schouwburg (Dutch: Royal Flemish Theatre, Brussels, Belgium) KVS Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan (Hindi: Indian Central Schools) KVS Kenny Vs Spenny (TV show) to Veritas, Alphamosaic to Broadcom, FillFactory to Cypress Semiconductor Cypress Semiconductor is a semiconductor design and manufacturing company. It began operations in 1982 and listed publicly in 1986. Two years later, the company shifted over to the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol, (NYSE: CY). and DNA DNA: see nucleic acid. DNA or deoxyribonucleic acid One of two types of nucleic acid (the other is RNA); a complex organic compound found in all living cells and many viruses. It is the chemical substance of genes. Research Innovations to Invitrogen. Esprit has US$500 million of assets under management Assets Under Management (AUM) is a term used by financial services companies in the mutual fund and money management or investment management business to gauge how much money they are managing. (including Prelude Trust plc and the Esprit Capital I fund) and has offices in London and Cambridge, UK. For further information, please visit www.espritcp.com. About TTP Ventures: TTP Ventures provides venture capital for early-stage science and technology companies. It draws on the expertise and contacts of TTP Group, one of Europe's most successful engineering innovation companies, to help grow substantial businesses. Investments include fabless semiconductor companies Element 14, Alphamosaic (both acquired by Broadcom) and Cambridge Semiconductor, and low-power EDA (1) (Electronic Design Automation) Using the computer to design, lay out, verify and simulate the performance of electronic circuits on a chip or printed circuit board. specialist Azuro. About Dow Venture Capital: Dow Venture Capital has invested over $400 million in businesses based on Life Sciences & Biotechnology; Communications & Information Technology; and Physical Sciences. Dow invests, in part, through institutional venture capital firms Name Location Founding date Managing Partners/Directors Specialty Capital managed 5AM Ventures Menlo Park, CA; Waltham, MA 2002 John Diekman, PhD (managing partner), Scott Rocklage, PhD (managing partner), Andrew Schwab (managing partner) life sciences $200M [1] , and also directly in start-up companies. The Dow Venture Capital team has developed a broad network of VC partners that specialize in Dow's targeted investment markets and geographies. Dow Venture Capital's investment professionals are widely experienced in discovering new investment opportunities, and supporting portfolio companies. Territories in which Dow is actively managing investments include North America, Europe and Asia. |
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