Will it be a match made in ultra wideband heaven? San Diego-based Staccato Communications says it has merged with another ultra wideband semiconductor developer, Artimi, and raised $20 million in equity financing from previous investors in both companies.
The company, which will keep the Staccato name, says the combination of Staccato’s wireless semiconductors and Mountain View, CA-based Artimi’s wireless semiconductor technology and software will bolster its offerings for the PC, consumer electronics, and mobile device markets. Marty Colombatto, CEO of Staccato, is going to remain chief executive and Andrew Vought, who was CEO of Artimi, is becoming COO of the firm.
The financing came from a bevy of investors including: Allegis Capital, Amadeus Capital Partners, Bay Partners, Charles River Ventures, Formative Ventures, Intel Capital, Interwest Partners, Khosla Ventures, Noble Venture Finance, Oak Investment Partners and Vision Capital.
Staccato, founded in 2002, has been financed with three previous rounds of venture capital totaling $77.5 million.
The company was formed to fulfill the promise of untangling the cables under the desk by connecting PCs, peripherals and consumer electronics by using UWB-enabled technologies such as wireless USB, high-speed Bluetooth and WiMedia IP. It specializes in developing low-cost, low-power, single-chip, all CMOS semiconductors and the software to go with them.
In the statement released by the company, Khosla Ventures founder Vinod Khosla said, “With a strong syndicate of investors, as well as the best-in-class hardware and software that the two companies bring, the industry will have a well-funded supplier with all the necessary elements to drive a high-volume market.”
On the other hand, technology blog socialTECH.com noted in this post that the Staccato-Artimi merger follows a shaky month for the ultra-wideband semiconductor market, with recent signs of distress like the closing of ultra-wideband semiconductor maker WiQuest Communications in September and Intel’s (NASDAQ:[[ticker:INTC]]) decision to cease development of such technology.
