Sequans, WIMAX chipset pioneer, raises its first financing round from CapDecisif and I-Source Gestion

– CapDecisif, the regional seed-stage fund of the Paris Region and T-Source, the main seed-stage fund dedicated to telecommunications have invested € 1.5 M in the first financing round of Sequans Communications, a provider of broadband wireless solutions. Sequans designs and develops WiMAX-compliant components that will allow service providers to deploy new network architectures with dramatic cost reductions.

« WiMAX is a new wireless communications technology based on IEEE 802.16 and promoted by Intel and Fujitsu, with a comparable potential as Wi-Fi. WiMAX stands out for its technical performance and attractive deployment costs. WiMAX-Forum Certified™ systems will have a typical range of 7-10 km and will offer transfer rates of up to 75 Mbit per second in a 20 MHz channel. Moreover, thanks to the WiMAX Forum's efforts to ensure interoperability among vendors, WiMAX-Certified™ equipment will be competitively priced as compared to other technologies such as cable and DSL. Service providers are eagerly awaiting WiMAX equipment to cut costs on existing infrastructures and to deploy new services such as ubiquitous wireless broadband.” says Nicolas Landrin, Associate Partner with I-Source Gestion. « Sequans’ team has already proven itself successful in their previous company, Pacific Broadband Communications, which was acquired by Juniper Networks Inc. in 2001. Together, they combine world class expertise in digital communications, a capacity and quality of development that are second to none, an active presence in the standards bodies as well as close ties with system vendors and operators worldwide.”

« We detected in Sequans a large potential at an early stage, and decided to help them so as to allow the company structure and attract other seed-stage funds. We will now focus on supporting them until the next financing round” adds Olivier Dubuisson, Partner at CapDecisif.

« This round sets a new stage for Sequans Communications » adds Georges Karam, President, CEO and Founder of Sequans”. “We are delighted to welcome on board two major players of seed financing. Their experience in supporting high tech ventures will help us deliver on our development plans as well as accelerate our products time to market”. “In the future, Sequans will raise a second round from institutional and industrial investors in order to carry on with its growth plans, especially in the U.S. and Asian markets”.

About Sequans

Sequans Communications (www.sequans.com) is a fabless semiconductor company headquartered in Paris. It was founded in September 2003 by a team of seven partners, sharing an extensive common experience in Broadband Access Technologies. Sequans ambitions to become the leading supplier of silicon and embedded software for WiMAX-based systems. Sequans offers a System-on-Chip (SoC) both for Base Stations and Customer Premises Equipment, integrating the PHY layer as well as the MAC. The team has a broad range of expertise in Digital Signal Processing, MAC protocol, embedded software and ASIC design.

About I-Source Gestion

I-Source Gestion (www.isourcegestion.fr) is a Venture Capital firm dedicated to seed-stage financing of high growth potential ventures, coming from either public or private research, and in the areas of Information Technologies and Telecommunications

I-Source Gestion manages four funds for a total amount of around €85M and has invested in 42 portfolio companies. These four funds are:

•    I-Source et I-Source 2 : Infrastructure and Internet services, Corporate Software
•    C-Source : Content and Multimedia technologies
•    T-Source : Telecommunications Systems, Software and Services

The management team gathers a wide range of expertise in both venture capital and senior operational management roles (project management, marketing, …). The team assists founders in refining their development strategy, in defining the first company development milestones and in refining their financing plan. The company is then supported throughout its first years after inception.

About CapDecisif
CapDecisif (www.capdecisif.com) is a seed stage venture firm dedicated to investing in high potential, high innovation companies.

CapDecisif was created end 2001, manages around €18M and is supported among others by the Ile-de-France Region.  It has 8 portfolio companies in Information Technologies as well as Life Sciences.

About WIMAX
The WiMAX Forum is an industry-led, non-profit corporation formed to promote and certify the compatibility and interoperability of broadband wireless products using the IEEE 802.16 and ETSI HiperMAN wireless MAN specifications. The forum’s goal is to accelerate the introduction of these devices into the marketplace. WiMAX Forum Certified™ products will be fully interoperable and support Metropolitan Broadband Fixed and Portable Applications. For more information about the WiMAX Forum and its activities, please visit www.WiMAXForum.org.

« WiMAX-Forum » and « WiMAX-Forum Certified » are trademarks of the WiMAX Forum.