RF MEMS developer closes
DelfMEMS SA (Villeneuve d’Ascq, France) was founded in 2005 and had turned its attention to consumer applications in recent years. It had reportedly raised approximately $20 million over three rounds of financing.
The company took several years to come to market but a year ago DelfMEMS CEO, Cybele Rolland, said that the company had signed several supply contracts, with more in the pipeline, and that she anticipated the company shipping in volume in the second half of 2016 (see DelfMEMS shows SP12T RF MEMS switch).
The use of MEMS for RF switches can improve RF signal processing for the multimode, multifrequency demands of mobile phones and other wirelessly connected equipment. However, DelfMEMS was in competition to supply such components with other companies such as Cavendish Kinetics Inc. (San Jose, Calif.).
Cavendish announced it had design wins in LTE phones in June 2015 (see RF MEMS tuner gains design wins in LTE phones) and Qorvo made a strategic investment in the company in August 2015 along with an option to acquire the company (see Qorvo takes strategic stake in MEMS vendor Cavendish).
Investors in DelfMEMS were many and included the Ambition Numérique fund, Iris Capital, VIVES, Capitalaria, BPI France Investissement, A2D Invest, Finovam, Rhône-Alpes-Creation, Eurekap and Helea Financiere. A source familiar with the company said he believed that the company was in the process of liquidating its assets, essentially intellectual property and patents.
When checked DelfMEMS’s long term website www.delfmems.com and telephone number were inoperative.
Related links and articles:
News articles:
DelfMEMS shows SP12T RF MEMS switch
Qorvo takes strategic stake in MEMS vendor Cavendish
RF MEMS tuner gains design wins in LTE phones
Well-backed MEMS startup closed?
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