Wavesat, a supplier of WiMAX chipsets and software, announced it has completed a significant round of funding led by SK Telecom, a global leader in providing mobile voice and data services. The financing round, which also included participation from existing investors, will be used to accelerate the introduction of Wavesat’s upcoming UMobile™ family of full mobility WiMAX/WiBro solutions for the cellular handset market. This will complement Wavesat’s existing leadership products for the fixed and nomadic (laptop) WiMAX markets, enabling Wavesat to provide best-in-class solutions for each WiMAX segment.
The funding round is expected to take Wavesat to profitability and follows a very successful year in which Wavesat grew revenue by nearly 300 percent, formed strategic partnerships with several industry leaders, received more than 30 design wins worldwide and secured WiMAX Forum Certification for its WiMAX product portfolio.
“After looking at many semiconductor suppliers, we are pleased to extend our existing development partnership with Wavesat into an equity investment in the company”, said Sean Sehyun Oh, CTO of SK Telecom. “We are convinced that Wavesat will be a leader in the WiMAX/WiBro market.”
“We were overwhelmed with the positive and enthusiastic interest from the venture community,” said Michel Guay, president and CEO of Wavesat. “The fact that SK Telecom, the leading mobile service provider in Korea, led our financing round is a tremendous validation of our leading position and unique expertise with both fixed and mobile WiMAX standards. We believe this round will enable us to maintain our leadership position in WiMAX, accelerate our product roadmap and achieve profitability.”