The latest funding round included a new investor, Zurich-based SAM Private Equity, as well as existing investors Amadeus Capital Partners, Climate Change Capital, Environmental Technologies Fund, NES Partners and angel investors.
Commenting, Nujira CEO Tim Haynes said: “As the world leader in Envelope Tracking technology, Nujira remains in an extremely strong market position, and we continue to lead the way both commercially and technologically. ET is fast becoming a mandatory requirement for smartphones, driven by the poor battery life of existing 4G handsets, and the need to support multiple LTE frequency bands for global adoption. We have been at the forefront of this technological shift, pioneering the development of ET over the last 10 years. This latest investment not only allows us to continue that development work, but also reinforces the growing value of our extensive ET patent portfolio.”
Nujira announced the first commercial IC in its Coolteq.L product family of ET power supply modulators for mobile handsets in February 2012 at Mobile World Congress. The NCT-L1100 reduces wasted energy from power amplifiers (PAs) in mobile handsets by more than 50%, cutting heat dissipation and extending battery life. In April Nujira also announced the filing of its 150th patent relating to ET, emphasizing its dominant position in the ET intellectual property landscape.
Nujira’s patents cover not only the core technical breakthroughs that underpin Nujira’s high bandwidth, high efficiency Coolteq® ET modulator ICs, but also wider system elements. These include system architectures, timing alignment, linearization with or without Digital Pre Distortion (DPD), PA performance enhancement, system optimization, test & measurement, and production-line calibration techniques.
“Joining Nujira’s existing cleantech and technology investors at this pivotal time in the market adoption of Envelope Tracking is an exciting opportunity,” said Keimpe Keuning, Investment Director at SAM Private Equity. “With all major smartphone vendors poised to adopt ET in the next few years, Nujira’s world-leading technology and dominant patent position marks them out as the key player in this segment.”
Nujira is currently engaged with 16 major smartphone chipset suppliers to embed its ET technology into their reference platforms and expects its Coolteq.L technology to be designed into 4G smartphones in 2013.
Chris Taylor of Strategy Analytics commented, “Nujira is one of the leading players in ET. With the proliferation of different frequency bands for 4G, the increasing value and complexity of the RF front end is rapidly becoming a major factor in LTE smartphones. Envelope Tracking is a key technology for reducing the cost, footprint and power consumption in these advanced smartphones, where battery life and LTE frequency band support are becoming significant differentiators for OEMs. Our recent survey of transceiver vendors indicated that almost all 4G chipsets will support ET in future devices.”
Nujira’s latest investor, Zurich-based SAM, is a global investment boutique focused exclusively on sustainability investing. The firm’s offering comprises asset management, indexes and clean tech private equity. SAM partners with S&P Dow Jones Indexes in the publication and development of the Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes (DJSI). Founded in 1995, SAM today has more than 100 employees and belongs to Robeco, a subsidiary of the Dutch Rabobank Group.
About Nujira
Nujira’s mission is to dramatically improve the energy efficiency of transmitters for 3G and 4G handsets, base stations and TV broadcast applications by reducing the amount of waste energy dissipated as heat in the RF Power Amplifier circuit.
Nujira’s patented Coolteq® Modulator technology dynamically controls the power supply to the circuit in line with the amplitude of the signal, enabling the creation of highly efficient RF Power Amplifiers. Today Coolteq technology powers the industry’s most energy efficient and highest performing 4G base stations and TV broadcast transmitters. Nujira is now applying the same energy efficient technology to smartphones and other portable wireless devices.
A fabless semiconductor company located in Cambridge, UK, with design centres in Cambridge and Edinburgh, Nujira is enabling the design of cost-effective multi-mode, multi-band handsets that deliver faster data rates, longer battery life, and better coverage.
For more information, please visit www.nujira.com or follow us on Twitter @nujira_et
About Amadeus
Amadeus Capital Partners Limited is a venture capital company specialising in high-technology investments in Europe. An independent fund management firm, Amadeus advises on the investment of £450 million.
Amadeus is committed to nurturing its companies with a combination of management support and a global network of other technology investors and leaders. The Amadeus team brings to its portfolio companies a track record of building superior technology companies.
For further information, please visit www.amadeuscapital.com
About Climate Change Capital Private Equity (CPE)
CPE is a €200 million European private equity fund that invests expansion capital in high growth, later stage companies and buy-out in the areas of clean power, clean transport, energy efficiency, waste recovery and water. CPE is backed by leading institutional investors including Alpinvest, Robeco and Universities Superannuation Scheme. CPE is part of Climate Change Capital (CCC), an investment manager and advisory group specialising in the opportunities generated by the global transition to a low carbon economy. CCC’s Asset Management business manages funds invests in companies, projects and services that contribute to climate change mitigation and adaptation. Climate Change Capital is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Bunge and is a part of Bunge’s Financial Services Group
For further information, please visit www.climatechangecapital.com
About Environmental Technologies Fund
Environmental Technologies Fund is a leading growth capital investment fund investing in some of the most exciting Cleantech companies in Europe. Environmental Technologies Fund supports fantastic growth companies whose products and services deliver a significant environmental and economic benefit. The team is backed by leading institutional investors and has a great deal of experience gathered over decades of working in growth capital and with environmental companies. Environmental Technologies Fund is supported by the European Communities Growth and Employment Initiative.
For further information, please visit www.etf.eu.com
About NES Partners
NES Partners is an experienced fund manager specializing in driving value in unlisted New-Energy-Solutions companies through active ownership to the benefit of our Investors and Stakeholders. Being amongst the pioneers in the New-Energy space, NES Partners has since 2002 invested in and contributed to the successful growth of a number companies within Energy Efficiency, Energy Storage, Smart Grid, Solar Power, Biofuels, Fuel cells, Clean Water and Advanced Materials. NES Partners has offices in Copenhagen and Los Angeles.
For further information, please visit http://www.nespartners.dk/
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Press contact:
Ben Smith, Senior Account Manager, EML Wildfire
Email: nujira@emlwildfire.com
Phone: +44 20 8408 8000
Nujira contact:
Jeremy Hendy, VP Sales & Marketing
Email: jeremy.hendy@nujira.com
Phone: +44 1223 597 900
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