SCALINX, a fabless semiconductor company based in France and specializing in advanced mixed-signal chip design, has successfully concluded its second funding round, securing a global investment of €34 million. The funds will play a pivotal role in fueling the development of cutting-edge system-on-a-chip (SoC) products and expanding the company’s customer base. With cumulative funding of €44.5 million to date, SCALINX is poised to transition from specialized markets to broader market segments, solidifying its unique European position in the design and supply of SoC solutions based on ultra-high speed data converters, particularly needed in high-tech industries like 5G and 6G networks, and autonomous vehicles.
SCALINX new investors include the French State, through its “French Tech Souveraineté” fund program managed by Bpifrance (the French national investment bank), Go Capital, an independent management company and Thales. Previous investors joining this second round include NCI WaterStart Capital, an accelerator fund and investment firm, Normandie Participations, the investment fund of the Normandy Region, BNP Paribas Development (a private equity subsidiary of BNP Paribas bank), and Unexo (the investment arm of Crédit Agricole bank), as well as other private investors.
The proceeds will be used to expand business operations, with a particular focus on the Wireless Communication market in which SCALINX aims at developing new products and broadening its customer base. New markets will be explored, notably in the Automotive sector. The company will continue to consolidate its position in historical markets by undertaking new projects in space and defense and launching a product family in test and measurement. The business plan will be accompanied by a doubling of SCALINX headcount over the next 24 months and office space expansion to accommodate the growing workforce.
Hussein Fakhoury, SCALINX founder and CEO, stated, "This new investment round validates the interest of the Wireless Infrastructure market in our wideband, low-power data-conversion SCCORE™ technology. Our SoC product roadmap will empower telecom players to deliver ultra-high capacity, multi-gigabit links over longer distances, optimizing total cost of ownership for microwave, mmWave and multi-band equipment. This investment marks a crucial milestone for our growth, and we are excited about the strong endorsements from new and existing stakeholders."
“We are delighted to back SCALINX, whose expertise in highly integrated mixed-signal products is unique in Europe," said Marion Aubry, investment director at Bpifrance. "SCALINX has a proven track record in defense and aerospace, test and measurement, and communications and we expect it to grow rapidly in these markets.”
Bruno Dizengremel, venture partner from Go Capital, added, “We are proud to materialize our financial support and contribute our experience in semiconductors to SCALINX, a team that has demonstrated its global leadership in the field of high speed data converters integrated circuits design. Furthermore, having internationally recognized design teams, SCALINX perfectly meets the strategy of our new OV4 investment fund to support ambitious deep tech projects in our territories.”
Philippe Keryer, Thales executive vice president of strategy, research and technology, also highlighted, “We are pleased to support the next development round of SCALINX, a long-time valued technology partner for Thales. This investment will enable the France-based deep tech startup to further scale its ICs design activity, strategic for European sovereignty, especially in defense and space markets in which Thales has a strong stake.”