SOURCE: Artimi

March 21, 2007 08:37 ET

Artimi Completes $31.5 Million Round With Additional Investment From Khosla Ventures

Funds Artimi's Dual-Mode Wireless Connectivity Products and Market Roll-Out

SANTA CLARA, CA -- (MARKET WIRE) -- March 21, 2007 -- Artimi Inc., developer of wireless semiconductors for portable consumer electronics, raised an additional $5 million in funding this week, bringing its Series B financing to $31.5 million. The latest investment comes from new investor Khosla Ventures, founded by Vinod Khosla, one of the world's most influential venture capitalists. Artimi's overall financing now totals $50 million.

"Almost anyone who uses digital cameras has probably wished for a faster, easier way to get pictures to a computer or printer, and that need gets greater with newer, more powerful devices coming every day," notes Vinod Khosla, founder and partner of Khosla Ventures. "Artimi's breakthrough embedded technology offers consumers ultra simple connectivity for digital cameras, phones, media players, and more."

The funding from Khosla coincides with Artimi's successful demonstrations of next-generation Bluetooth® over ultra-wideband (UWB) for mobile handsets at the 3GSM World Congress in Barcelona and a Wireless USB digital camera reference design at the Photo Marketing Association conference in Las Vegas. Consumer electronics manufacturers are currently developing a variety of portable products based on Artimi's dual-mode wireless connectivity technology.

"With more than a billion portable consumer electronic devices shipped each year, and consumers' need to transfer media-rich content, the market opportunity for wireless connectivity is very large," says Colin Macnab, CEO of Artimi. "Artimi's support for both Certified Wireless USB and next-generation Bluetooth means manufacturers don't have to choose one technology or another for their products. We've already gained significant market traction with brand-name companies in the areas of storage, digital cameras and mobile handsets, and this follow-on Series B investment from Khosla Ventures further validates our dual-mode technology strategy. This additional funding also allows us to support volume production through 2008 and stay focused on building the business."

Artimi's other investors include Accel Partners, Amadeus Capital Partners, Index Ventures, Oak Investment Partners, and Bank of Scotland Growth Equity.

About Khosla Ventures

Khosla Ventures offers venture assistance, strategic advice and capital to entrepreneurs. The firm helps entrepreneurs extend the potential of their ideas in both traditional venture areas like the Internet, computing, mobile, and silicon technology arenas but also supports breakthrough scientific work in clean technology areas such as bio-refineries for energy and bioplastics, solar, battery and other environmentally friendly technologies. Vinod Khosla was formerly a General Partner at Kleiner Perkins and founder of Sun Microsystems. Vinod has been labeled the #1 VC by Forbes and Fortune recently labeled him as one the nation's most influential ethanol advocates, noting "there are venture capitalists, and there's Vinod Khosla." Vinod Khosla founded the firm in 2004 and was joined by partners David Weiden and Samir Kaul, as well as chief scientific officer Doug Cameron in 2006. Khosla Ventures is based in Menlo Park, California.

About Artimi

Artimi® provides semiconductors, software and reference designs for high data rate wireless connectivity, including WiMedia®-based Certified Wireless USB from the USB-IF and next-generation Bluetooth®. Artimi's products employ ultra-wideband (UWB) radio techniques to enable high-speed wireless bulk data transfer between portable consumer electronics products. Content rich portable consumer electronics devices benefit from Artimi's technology, including digital cameras and camcorders, personal media players, and mobile handsets. Artimi, founded in 2002, is headquartered in Santa Clara, California, with research and development in Cambridge, UK, and sales offices in Japan and Taiwan. For more information, see www.artimi.com

Artimi, the Artimi logo and "ultra simple connectivity" are trademarks or registered trademarks of Artimi Inc. and Artimi Ltd. All other trademarks and registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners.