CMOS power amplifier startup raises $10 million

LONDON — Black Sand Technologies Inc. (Austin, Texas), a fabless startup producing a CMOS RF power amplifier for 3G communications, has announced that it has received $10 million in its second round of funding.

The round was led by Northbridge Venture Partners and joined by Austin Ventures, bringing the total investment in the company to $18.2 million. Black Sand said it would use the funding to bring its power amplifiers into mass production and accelerate development of additional products.

Black Sand's RF PA products are targeted at mobile phones and other 3G wireless devices, such as datacards and netbooks and the company claimed it is the first to produce such devices in CMOS.

Black Sand Technologies was founded in 2005 and seeks to combine sensitive analog, digital and power circuits in silicon. The company did not disclose who it is using to make its designs or how soon its product will be in mass production.

"The RF front end of mobile phones is continuing to grow in complexity and with the development of linear, 3G CMOS PA technology, enabling advances such as integrated digital control circuits, Black Sand is in a unique position to profit from this technological shift as the market moves from 2G to 3G," added Brian Modoff, a wireless equipment analyst at Deutsche Bank, in a statement issued by Black Sand.

"We were impressed to see that Black Sand delivered working samples of their new PA architecture much sooner than expected." said Basil Horangic, a partner at Northbridge Venture Partners.

Related links and articles:

www.blacksand.com

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