- 31 August 2006 -

Large-scale Investments for SiC & SiGe

Recently, there have been two major new announcements of funding in advanced semiconductors. Some $10.6M is going to Crystal IS in investment led by Lux Capital of New York City, with participation from 3i, ARCH Venture Partners, Harris & Harris Group, Credit Suisse and Taiwanese Linkmore Ltd. While SiGe Semiconductor, a leading supplier of RF front-end solutions for wireless systems, has raised US $19.5 m in an expansion round of financing. TD Capital, Prism Venture Partners, VenGrowth Private Equity Partners, and 3i Technology Partners led the round, joined by previous investors including, Hunt Ventures, RWI Group, GrowthWorks, and Vista Ventures.

Crystal IS Inc., a developer of single-crystal AlN substrates for the cost-effective production of high power, high temperature, and optoelectronic devices such as blue and ultraviolet lasers. It plans to use the funds in part to expand its manufacturing team. "This round of funding will allow Crystal IS to ramp up production" of its products and reduce prices, said Crystal IS CEO Ding Day.

"For us, this wasn't best-in-class, it was only-in-class," said Josh Wolfe, the managing partner for Lux Capital. "Crystal IS has a winning combination of patented processes, propietary materials, high-value end markets and the team to execute. We're enthusiastic to support their growth as they meet the needs of global customers."

SiGe Semiconductor's revenue grew from $3.6 m in 2003 to $31.8 m in 2005. It continues to grow in 2006, as revenues for the six months ended June 30, 2006 were US $23.0 m, as compared to US $11.9 m for the same period in 2005. The company's industry-leading products are driving its success, as SiGe currently holds a major share of the market for WLAN power amplifiers, and is quickly gaining traction in the GPS, Bluetooth, and WiMAX segments. The company has shipped more than 100 m chips to customers and partners including Arris Interactive, Askey, Broadcom, Cybertan, Foxconn, Furuno, Garmin, Gemtek, Mitsumi, Samsung, Tecom, Tyco, and USI.

"TD maintains its strong support for SiGe based on its outstanding revenue growth and continued ability to develop leading products in high growth areas. We are excited about the company's prospects as it moves its next generation of parts from development to market launch," said Paul Ciriello, managing director of TD Capital Technology Ventures.
"SiGe Semiconductor has performed extraordinarily, demonstrating the vision of its management team, as well as its ability to identify and address high-growth market opportunities," said Pat DiPietro, managing general partner, VenGrowth Private Equity Partners Inc. "They have established a track record of delivering leading-edge products, which are designed into a diverse mix of the leading edge consumer electronics products available today. VenGrowth is happy to show our continued support through this latest investment."

With the completion of the expansion round, SiGe Semiconductor also welcomed two new board members: Bill Seifert, general partner, Prism, and Sean Brownlee, director, 3i.
"We are very pleased with the continued support by our investors," said Jim Derbyshire, CEO and chairman, SiGe Semiconductor. "This funding will be instrumental in bringing new products to market, and expanding our portfolio to address high-growth opportunities in the cellular, GPS and WiMAX markets. We also plan to scale operations accordingly to support the growing demand for our products worldwide."

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