3D chip designer Movidius raises $9m

COMPUTER CHIP designer Movidius has closed a $9 million (€6.75 million) funding round from existing investors including Celtic House Venture Partners, Capital E, Emertec Gestion and AIB Seed Capital Fund.

The series C funding round will see the Irish company through to a break-even position by “late next year”, according to chief executive Seán Mitchell.

Movidius’s flagship product is the Myriad 3D processor, a low-power multi-core chip which allows 3D content to be displayed on mobile devices such as smartphones. The Myriad 3D began shipping in volume to customers six months ago, which Mr Mitchell described as a “major step” for the company.

“Now we are bringing in money rather than just spending it,” he said.

Movidius has now raised $30 million. Enterprise Ireland was an early backer of the company but it did not participate in the current round.

So-called “fabless” semiconductor companies such as Movidius, which design chips but outsource their manufacturing, require a large investment in research and development before generating revenues.

Venture capital firms have in recent years favoured investment in internet start-ups, which require less funding and generate revenues sooner.

Mr Mitchell described it as a “brutal time” to fundraise for a semiconductor company and said the investment was a “great endorsement” of the company and its staff.

Movidius will make announcements at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas next January and Mobile World Congress in Barcelona the following month about customers who are using the Myriad 3D products.

The company has 50 full-time and contract staff at offices in Dublin, Hong Kong and Romania.