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CamSemi has today announced the completion of one of the largest VC funding rounds for a European fabless semiconductor company this year by raising $26 million (£13 million).
The C round funding, led by 3i and existing shareholders Scottish Equity Partners (SEP) and TTP Ventures, sees the Carbon Trust join as a new investor. Carbon Trust Investments is taking a $4 million equity stake in CamSemi – its first investment in a company focused on improving the energy efficiency of consumer electronics products.
The new funding will support CamSemi’s commercialisation of products that can dramatically reduce the energy consumption of electronic equipment in operating and standby modes. Energy lost as heat through inefficient power conversion or when products are in standby is a serious problem that urgently needs to be addressed: for example the standby usage of the UK’s 25 million mobile telephone chargers alone consumes enough energy to match the annual electricity needs of 16,000 homes. Other research suggests that consumer electronic equipment will be responsible for 45 per cent of household energy consumption by 2020, equivalent to the output of 14 power stations [ref 1].
Cambridge-based CamSemi is developing sophisticated ICs that will allow manufacturers to introduce highly cost-efficient mains-connected converters and battery chargers that are smaller, cheaper and more power efficient. They have the potential to deliver a 10-fold improvement in standby energy efficiency and reduce operating mode losses by a factor of three.
Laurence Garrett, partner at 3i and CamSemi board member said:
“CamSemi is probably one of Europe’s top three emerging fabless semiconductor companies. The company has developed a number of patented, proprietary technologies; is developing a portfolio of compelling products that target a major unmet need; and has built a world-class management and engineering capability. In our view, the company has all the right ingredients, the enthusiasm and the drive to become a future leader in the power management IC market.”
Adam Workman, partner at Carbon Trust Investments said:
“Standby power is an important issue for consumer electronic equipment manufacturers owing to both rising energy costs and the emergence of green consumers who are concerned about their carbon footprint. There are also several pieces of impending legislation that will force manufacturers to reduce energy consumption when their products are in standby mode. The Carbon Trust is delighted to be joining at this investment round as we believe that CamSemi has one of the few technologies in development with the potential to really make a difference in this area.”
David Baillie, CEO at CamSemi said:
“Our first products are already available to the worldwide market and shipping in volume. The C2470 family of controllers allows manufacturers for the first time to replace bulky, low cost and power-hungry linear supplies with a simple, cost competitive and much more energy efficient approach.
“Linear power supplies typically operate with power conversion efficiencies of 50% or even less and standby consumptions of 1 W. However, products based on CamSemi’s C2470 controllers offer very significant improvements with figures of around 85% and 100 mW respectively. Products are also smaller and lighter, which saves on transportation costs plus they require far less raw materials to manufacture them and they are easier to recycle too.”
The new funding will help CamSemi support its ongoing product development programmes, continue to build its sales and marketing infrastructure and provide the working capital to fuel the demand-led expansion in the company’s business.
References
1 The Ampere Strike Back
Published by Energy Saving Trust, June 2007 and available to download from www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/aboutest/news/ampere/
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