SiBEAM Raises $15 Million in Series A Funding

"SiBEAM, Inc., a developer of gigabit wireless technology, announced its launch today to meet the growing demand for high-bandwidth services over wireless networks. SiBEAM has secured $15 million in Series A funding from New Enterprise Associates, US Venture Partners, and Foundation Capital.
With years of academic research behind its core team, SiBEAM will utilize the Series A funding to further its development of wireless technology for the next level of wireless communications, enabling gigabit data rates. The founding executive team comprises world-leading experts in wireless technology and systems design. Dr. Bob Brodersen, chairman of SiBEAM, was involved in founding Atheros Communications, a leading developer of semiconductors for wireless communications products. Additionally, Dr. Brodersen is an established world authority on wireless communications and has been a UC Berkeley professor for 33 years and co-director of the Berkeley Wireless Research Center. "

[Press Release]

More in today's venturewire:

"The Fremont, Calif.-based company says it's aiming to meet the growing demand for high-bandwidth services over wireless networks. The company is still in what John Marshall, vice president of sales and marketing, calls "pseudo-stealth mode," saying only that it's developing wireless technology that can enable gigabit data rates for wireless communications. "We are envisioning that the technology can be used by a range of different companies - PC manufacturers, consumer electronics companies, peripheral manufacturers," Marshall said.

Chief Executive Tim A. Williams added, "It is not for Wi-Max, not for ultra-wideband." Forest Baskett, general partner at New Enterprise Associates and SiBeam board member, called it "a new category of wireless." Arati Prabhakar, partner at U.S. Venture Partners, said her firm is "very excited about the potential of the technology, which is fundamentally going to take wireless capabilities at a completely new level." Prabhakar, who is a SiBeam board member, said the objective is "to take it to first product."

Company's website is still stealth. Company will likely need another 20 - 50M of funding to launch product and grow sales down the road.