Black Sand raises $10-million Series C

LONDON – Fabless chip company Black Sand Technologies Inc., which sells CMOS power amplifiers for 3G communications, has announced it has raised $10 million in a series C round of funding.

The BST34 series of power amplifiers is designed as a drop-in replacement for existing 3G gallium arsenide power amplifiers. Black Sand (Austin, Texas) said it is ramping volume production of silicon power amplifiers for use in 3G phones, tablet computers and datacards. The latest funding round was led by existing investors Northbridge Venture Partners and Austin Ventures.

"The enthusiastic commitment of our shareholders, placing $10 million in cash on the balance sheet, is a powerful endorsement of our strategy and our growing success in the market," said

"We are already shipping in volume to multiple customers, and this additional investment will allow us to take the company to the next level – in terms of new products and an expansion of the sales and technical team," said John Diehl, CEO of Black Sand, in a statement. "We have demonstrated technology leadership and commercial performance: our investors have responded to that."

"The team at Black Sand has performed impressively over the last 24 months, not only successfully productizing the silicon power amplifier concept, but also achieving significant market traction," said Basil Horangic, Partner at Northbridge Venture Partners, in the same statement.

Black Sand entered the Silicon 60, EE Times' list of emerging startup companies at version 9.0 in October 2009. The latest edition of the Silicon 60 is version 12.5, which is the subject of a detailed technology and employment digital edition which can be accessed via http://e.ubmelectronics.com/Silicon60/index.html


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www.blacksand.com

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Black Sand raises $10-million Series C

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