Cambridge-based Agile Analog is changing the way analog chip circuits are designed by letting customers customise the chip for their specific needs. In a recent development, the company closed $19 million (nearly £13.5 million) in funding.
International expansion plans
The investment round was led by OMERS Ventures, a transatlantic multi-stage investor in growth-oriented, disruptive technology companies. Also, existing investors Delin Ventures, firstminute capital, and MMC Ventures took part in the round.
The funds will let Agile Analog expand its engineering and commercial footprint in Asia and North America. Part of the funding will be used for technology development, to further enhance process support, and increase the range of analog IP supported.
Henry Gladwyn, Partner at OMERS Ventures, said: “What excites us about Agile Analog is the potential for scale. Every other analog IP supplier is restricted to selling a limited range of standard IP products. But because Agile Analog’s unique technology enables it to create the IP that the customer wants, it can satisfy a wider range of customer requirements, and integrate more functionality into a chip design. As a result, the company is not limited by the size of today’s analog IP market – Agile Analog’s addressable the market is potentially as big as the analog chip market. That is a huge opportunity which OMERS Ventures is pleased to help Agile Analog explore.”
Pete Hutton, executive chairman of Agile Analog, said: “This successful funding round marks the start of the next chapter: the technology and process are proven with a range of customers from OEMs to Tier 1 semiconductor companies. So now it’s time to enable all semiconductor companies and the increasing number of OEMs who are designing their own silicon. Everyone is looking to shorten development cycles, increase integration, improve die area utilization and enhance system performance. By configuring analog IP the way the customer wants it and on any process node, we can enable them to gain all these benefits. With the funding to expand our engineering and commercial teams, we can now support a greater number of customers across a wider geographical footprint.”
On a recruitment spree
Besides expanding in North America, Agile Analog founded by Mike Hulse in 2017, eyes to open an office in Taiwan for sales and application engineering staff serving the Asian market. The deep tech company has begun recruiting development engineers to be based at its Cambridge, UK headquarters and across Europe. It plans to double its headcount growing to over 100 over the next 12 months.
Agile Analog IP is already compatible with almost all analog CMOS processes, including advanced FINFET processes, and will expand the number of foundries supported. Agile Analog’s mission is to transform the landscape of the Analog IP market space. Analog chip design is slow, complex and manual and the company is changing the way analog chip circuits are designed. The chip can be customised as per various needs, be it the Internet of Things, Security, Automotive, Artificial Intelligence, or other segments. Its technology is well placed to remove critical bottlenecks in the semiconductor industry supply chain.
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