VIERA, FL—SkyCross, which sells advanced antennas used in smartphones, laptops, handsets and other devices, has raised a $23 million financing led by Investor Growth Capital.
The company says the investment caps highly successful 2008 results for SkyCross. It reported 65 percent year-over-year revenue growth.
The company has raised a total of $58 million since being created by Milcom Technologies in 2000.
SkyCross previously raised $14 million from TLVentures in January, 2006, $2 million from Gabriel Venture Partners in August 2004, $1 million from SK Telecom in April 2004, $10 million from BancBoston Capital, BAE SYSTEMS, and Investment Partners of Orlando, among others in August 2003, and a $9 million first round in September 2000. Intel Capital is also an investor.
The investment will fuel further expansion as SkyCross continues to broaden its geographic reach, gain additional worldwide Tier 1 customers, and enter new market segments.
SkyCross is a presenting company at TechJournal South’s third annual Southeast Venture Conference March 11-12th at the Intercontinental Buckhead in Atlanta, Georgia (see: www.seventure.org for more information).
SkyCross currently serves a range of market segments including handsets, data cards, USB dongles, laptops, access points, mobile personal entertainment devices, and more. This comprehensive antenna portfolio bundles high performance, small size, and competitive pricing to support any combination of protocols including GSM, CDMA, HSPA, 802.11a/g/b/n, WiMAX, LTE, and others.
The company has grown 50 percent a year the last four years.
In early 2008, SkyCross announced iMAT technology, a disruptive innovation that consolidates the performance benefits of multiple antennas into a single low-cost antenna.
At CES earlier this month, Samsung introduced its Haptic and Omnia touch screen smartphone models; each contains multiple SkyCross antennas for voice, Internet, mobile video, and more. Last year, the first USB device certified by the WiMAX Forum was powered by an iMAT antenna to support global WiMAX frequencies and WiFi. SkyCross also provided antennas for the only ExpressCard offered by Sprint XOHM for its first WiMAX launch in the United States.
The Samsung Blackjack II, which Consumer Reports recently named as the best smartphone of 2008, and the Samsung Juke topped sales rankings; SkyCross antennas enable wireless connectivity for both devices.
“SkyCross has consistently produced rapid revenue growth, game-changing technical innovation, and important Tier 1 customer wins,” said Dr. Albert Kim, Vice President at Investor Growth Capital. “The ability of SkyCross to enable sleek, high performance devices at far lower cost sets the company apart from the competition.”
Online: www.skycross.com
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