VC funds still available for innovative technology
Draft dated 8 August, 2001
RF Engines Ltd. (RFEL) has just successfully completed its second round of funding,
bringing the total funding raised to over £1 million. This British company, based on
the Isle of Wight, UK, has created a radical new method of processing a multitude of
digital signals simultaneously in real time, that is proving invaluable in both
performance and cost terms, for applications ranging from military to mobile phone
base stations. What was previously only possible either with a large number of
dedicated electronic circuits or inefficient chip designs, can now be done on a
single chip, providing considerable cost savings, reduced power consumption and
enhanced performance.
“We have created and patented a whole new way of handling large amounts of
digital signals – a need that is growing every day as we move more and more into the
Digital Age,” explained John Lillington, RFEL’s CEO. “Like ARM and MIPS, we are
using the model of licensing our intellectual property (IP) as this enables us to
maintain our focus on what we do best – supporting, developing and evolving our
designs and our customers designs – without being distracted by issues of
productisation and inventory.”
RFEL licenses its technology, called Pipelined Frequency Transform™, in the
form of IP blocks or “Engines” that are incorporated into chips by their licensees,
to form single chip solutions for applications that require real time, simultaneous
processing of a wide band of RF (Radio Frequency) signals. These include base
stations, fixed wireless broadband systems, satellite communications systems, test
and measurement instrumentation, and defence systems. The company is already in
advanced negotiations with several potential customers for licenses.
Investors mainly came through Beeson Gregory’s Private Investor Network of seasoned
investors in high technology. “Despite the high technology sector currently having
a tough time,” explained Michael Hennigan, Head of Beeson Gregory’s Private Equity
division, “there are investors who believe that certain high technology companies
offer tremendous return on investment and are therefore prepared to take a long term
view and invest. They are just really selective about which companies they invest
in, and look to our expertise in understanding high technology to identify companies
that offer innovative or disruptive technology. RFEL are just such a company”.
Further information on RFEL can be found at
www.rfel.com, phoning on +44 (0) 1983 550332 or e-mail
info@rfel.com.
Press information can be obtained from Nigel Robson of Vortex PR on +44 (0) 1481 233080 or email
Nigel@vortexpr.com.