Dublin-based DecaWave closes $30m funding round, announces 100 jobs

Irish chipmaker DecaWave has announced 100 new jobs over the next three years following the closing of a $30 million (€24.4 million) funding round.

Founded in 2007 by Ciarán Connell and Michael McLaughlin, the Dublin-headquartered company offers ultra-wideband wireless technology via a low-power chip that can identify the specific location of any object indoors to within a few centimetres. the data communication capability of the chip makes it a good fit for Internet of Things (IoT) applications and other low-power wireless network applications.

The fabless semiconductor company’s first-generation DW1000 chip has already shipped more than four million units across the automotive, industrial and consumer sector.

Dublin-based equity fund Atlantic Bridge Ventures, whose Irish portfolio companies include Movidius, FieldAware and PolarLake, led the latest round. Other investors include the Irish VC firm ACT, Beijing-based ZZ Ventures, and the $100 million China Ireland Growth Technology Fund, which is jointly managed by Atlantic Bridge and Chinese partner West Summit Capital.

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Revenues

China accounts for roughly half of DecaWave’s €8 million revenues and the company recently opened a new Chinese headquarters in the southern technology hub of Shenzhen.

DecaWave said it intends to use the new funds to expand in China and also to further develop its second-generation solution to address a demand in the high-volume consumer and automotive markets.

“This funding allows us to accelerate our technology development to offer even tighter integration, lower power and more affordable solutions,” said Mr Connell, the company’s chief executive.

Following the latest investment, Brian Long and Gerry Maguire of Atlantic Bridge and John Flynn of ACT Venture Capital will all join DecaWave's board, which is chaired by former general manager of Intel Ireland Jim O'Hara.

DecaWave currently employs about 70 employees globally. It said the newly-announced roles will be in the areas of engineering, R&D, sales and marketing and applications, with recruitment already underway.

The company previously raised more than $25 million in funding with early backers including Enterprise Ireland, STMicroelectronics and Kernel Capital.