In a fourth quarter which figures to be a poor one for the venture capital financing sector, system-on-a-chip developer Provigent has completed a $10 million fifth funding round, led by US venture capital firm Lightspeed Venture Partners.
Including the current round, Provigent has raised $54.5 million, from investors including Pitango Venture Capital, Sequoia Capital, Globespan Capital Partners, and Qualcomm co-founder Andrew Viterbi.
Provigent decided to hold a financing round despite the poor market conditions, as investors turned to it and offered funding, and its managers felt that more money in the bank would help in the current climate.
In the past year, the company has doubled its workforce, and continues to seek new employees. Its revenue in 2007 was estimated by the IVC research center at $12 million.
Provigent develops application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) chips for wireless broadband systems. It markets a system-on-chip solution for wireless transmission.
Globes: Why did you raise funds?
Provigent CEO Dan Charash: The firm is in an atypical situation these days investors turned to us. The current funding was based on a higher company valuation.
Globes: What do you expect in 2009?
Charash: We are preparing to increase our workforce, especially in development in our core sectors, which are developing chips but also RF radio chips, and also digital ones. We made it through one recession. The company was founded in 2000, and quickly found itself in a market that disappeared. Looking back, during the last recession we produced the products that after the world came out of recession, put us in an ideal situation."
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on December 22, 2008
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