RF Engines closes second round of funding

25 August 2001 - 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[tm], 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.