DecaWave raises €6m, appoints former Intel VP Jim O’Hara as chairman

28 Mar 2012

Ciaran Connell, CEO; Jim O'Hara, chairman; and Michael McLaughlin, president and CTO, DecaWave

Dublin tech firm DecaWave, which makes fabless semiconductor chips for ultraband, wireless sensors and real-time location systems, has raised €6m in venture capital funding. It has also appointed former Intel Ireland country manager Jim O’Hara as chairman.

The investment brings the total funding raised by DecaWave to €12.4m.

The latest round comes from private investors in the US and Europe.

The appointment of O’Hara as chairman is an important statement of intent. O’Hara is a former vice-president of Intel Corporation and headed up its manufacturing group in Ireland.

Innovation powerhouse

DecaWave president and CTO Michael McLaughlin co-founded the company in Dublin with DecaWave CEO Ciaran Connell, formerly of Motorola and Freescale Semiconductor. A renowned expert on wireless technologies, McLaughlin has been instrumental in developing the IEEE 802.15.4a standard.

DecaWave is privately held, employs 25 people in Dublin, and has offices in San José, California, Seoul, South Korea, and Toulouse, France.

“The appointment of Jim O’Hara as chairman brings unique expertise and stature to DecaWave, and we are honoured that he has agreed to chair the company, to offer us his guidance and strategic vision at this vital time for the company”, says Connell.

“DecaWave is entering the final critical stage of our development before we reach full commercialisation for our ScenSor chip, and we believe Jim’s decision to join us, along with the additional €6m in funding from our investors, further validates and endorses both DecaWave’s vision and our technology,” Connell added.

John Kennedy is a journalist who served as editor of Silicon Republic for 17 years

editorial@siliconrepublic.com