The AV investment was part of a Series D preferred round of funding led by Merrill Lynch Ventures LLC that raised US $45 million in equity. This was the largest of the four funding rounds for Tropian, a Cupertino, Calif.-based company that was founded in 1996 and today has 90 employees. Using the company’s patented polar modulation technology, Tropian RF transmitter solutions enable universal interoperability and improved system performance in both cell phones and base stations. Tropian chipsets enable wireless transmission of multiple voice and high-speed data standards, including the leading wireless standards.
This is another Agilent Ventures investment aimed at providing Agilent early access to technological innovations through key alliances with start-up companies, said Maximilian Schroeck, managing director for AV. Despite the current economic downturn, Agilent Ventures will continue to invest in innovative early-stage technology companies in the optical and wireless communication fields, as well as in the life sciences area.
We invested in Tropian because we believe that they have developed an innovative technology for the multi-mode, multi-band world of wireless communications, said Dave Allen, general manager of Agilent’s Wireless Semiconductor Division. We see synergies between Tropian’s efforts and the direction Agilent is taking in its wireless business.
SOURCE: COMPANY PRESS RELEASE
