Startup 3DSP gains $13 million in second-round funding

Startup 3DSP gains $13 million in second-round funding
By Semiconductor Business News
April 18, 2000 (1:22 p.m. EST)
URL: http://www.eetimes.com/story/OEG20000418S0029

3DSP Corp., a developer of intellectual property (IP) for digital signal processing solutions, announced Monday it has closed a second round of funding led by Alcatel Ventures, bringing the total investment in the company to $13 million.

The new funding will be used for the second-quarter introduction of a new embedded-DSP product, further research and development of the company's DSP IP technology, and to enhance the firm's customer support infrastructure.

In addition, Steve Kim, managing partner of Alcatel Ventures, has joined the board of directors of 3DSP, Irvine, Calif.

"3DSP is a strategic investment for Alcatel Ventures," Kim said. "We see the DSP intellectual property market as a rapidly growing opportunity driven by the demand for Internet infrastructure. 3DSP offers a unique combination of superior technology, a very deep commitment to customer support and a roadmap to a total DSP solution. We believe they're on trackto become t he dominant player in this arena."

3DSP was founded in 1997 by executives Texas Instruments, Crystal Semiconductor, Sony, Rockwell, and Sharp Electronics.

Prior to joining Alcatel Ventures, Kim was the founder, president and chief executive of Xylan Corp., a manufacturer of high-end intelligent switching systems for larger computer networks. One year after Xylan went public in 1998, the company became part of Alcatel. Previously, Kim was chief executive and founder of FiberMux, a fiber-optic data networking company.

According to Kan Lu, president and chief executive of 3DSP, "With the backing of Alcatel Ventures and Steve Kim's experience, our company will become the leader in the DSP IP market. We are committed to become the leading provider of DSP IP total solutions and making DSP technology as popular as microprocessors."