Viking Venture invests in Nanoradio
The Nanoradio "Always On WiFi"TM solution - the NRX700/2 Wi-Fi chipset, which offers fully tested 802.11b/g functionality, featuring ultra-low power consumption, has won tremendous customer attraction. With the new investment, Nanoradio will be well equipped to support its volume growth together with a more ambitious launch plan of a new line of competitive products.“This means a lot to us, and the investment in Nanoradio is a significant recognition, especially in this time when it is proven to be so hard to raise capital, of the trust in our team and our capability to deliver according to our plans, says Tord Wingren, President & CEO of Nanoradio AB. "The focus we have in our daily work, is to continue to provide world class WiFi solutions to Tier 1 Mobile Phone makers".
The Nanoradio WiFi solution is doubling the standby and talk time compared to standard WiFi enabled phone offerings. This results in that the WiFi enabled phone customers can adopt a behaviour of keeping the WiFi Always On, removing the need for a “turn on and off the WiFi behaviour” in order to save battery time. This will grow in significance, especially when operating in WiFi networks which are built to complement high speed 3G+ mobile networks.
“Nanoradio has taken a technology leading position with its competitive advantages in a fast growing market” says Jostein Vik, Partner in Viking Venture. The WiFi market in handheld devices has had substantial growth the last two years and are estimated to reach 20% coverage of the world mobile phones next year. “Viking Venture have seen Nanoradio´s team ability to develop world class technology and to close deals with leading mobile phone suppliers” Jostein Vik continues.
“Nanoradio is probably the most exciting semiconductor company in the Nordic region. We were hugely impressed by Nanoradio’s experienced management team as well as the tremendous response from the customers. Nanoradio is the first company to offer a solution that allows for having the WiFi-functionality constantly switched on without draining the battery. The market for this solution is enormous with hundreds of millions of WiFi-devices including mobile phones that may benefit from Nanoradio’s technology”, comments Martin Hauge, General Partner at Creandum.
About Nanoradio AB
Nanoradio is backed by Creandum, Ferd Venture, Industrifonden, Innovacom, Nordic Venture Partners, Teknoinvest and Viking Venture.
Nanoradio design semiconductors with wireless capability for the cellular and handheld market where buying decisions relate to power consumption, stability, physical size, and total cost for customers.
Nanoradio has developed the most integrated circuits which bring outstanding WLAN capabilities into mobile phones and consumer multimedia electronics. Nanoradio´s Wi-Fi chips target a range of applications, including mobile phones, wireless network cameras for home surveillance, Portable media Players and gaming devices. Another big area for Nanoradio is the growing fixed-mobile convergence market with dual-mode phones. The company was founded in March 2004 and it is a "fabless" company which means that all manufacturing is outsourced. Nanoradio has a leading team of extensive experience from the cellular and wireless industry as well as semiconductor industry and start-ups. The head-quarter is in Kista, Sweden and with sales offices in Korea, Japan and USA.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION on Nanoradio solutions, please contact: Tord Wingren. President & CEO, tord.wingren@nanoradio.com, Phone: +46 705900567 Press: Annika Engelhart, Market Communicator, annika.engelhart@nanoradio.com Information on the company may be found on the World Wide Web at www.nanoradio.com
ABOUT Viking Venture
Viking Venture is one of the leading technology focused venture funds in Norway with 200 million USD (NOK 1.1 billion) under management. The investment company focuses on companies involved in electronics, software, oil & gas, materials and clean technology. Viking Venture typically invests in companies that have passed the seed phase and is ready for the commercialization phase. The fund is a very active owner with a substantial share in the portfolio companies.
www.vikingventure.com
ABOUT CREANDUM
Creandum is a Nordic venture capital firm investing in early-stage technology companies. The firm has 120 million Euros under management and is today the fastest growing independent partnership of its kind in the Nordic region. Creandum invests in innovative companies in high growth markets led by outstanding entrepreneurs. All investment professionals at Creandum has started companies or been part of successful startups. For more information, please visit www.creandum.com.