May 6, 2019 -- mmWave System IP specialist Blu Wireless has raised £12.7m ($16.6m) in a growth funding round led by existing investors Arm, Calculus Capital, Kendall and MGL, and including major new investor Guinness Asset Management. The investment will be used to scale the worldwide deployment of devices exploiting Blu Wireless’s HYDRA mmWave technology across a range of 5G applications.
Blu Wireless is already working with tier-1 telecoms infrastructure providers and leading semiconductor companies in the US, Japan, the UK and mainland Europe as they look to deploy HYDRA based devices within applications demanding 5G levels of bandwidth and low latency connectivity. Ready to be integrated within 5G software defined ‘network of networks’ Blu Wireless’s carrier-grade mmWave technology has been designed for the key markets of 5G telecoms infrastructure, Industry 4.0 and high-speed transportation.
Recently, Blu Wireless announced a supplier partnership with leading international railway operator FirstGroup to deliver 5G track-to-train infrastructure in the UK. The partnership deal will enable rail operators to cost effectively address passengers’ future demands for super-fast and reliable onboard Wi-Fi connectivity.
Blu Wireless is a specialist provider of carrier grade connectivity using unlicensed spectrum to deliver multi-gigabit, fibre-level connectivity that is cost-efficient, low power and reliable. By leveraging the full 14 GHz of spectrum available in the 57-71 GHz band, the company is able to significantly lower barriers to entry for 5G applications for stakeholders, opening up new commercial opportunities and greatly accelerating deployment.
Blu Wireless CEO, Henry Nurser, said: “The strong financial foundation that our investors are giving us will be crucial to our ability to work with our partners to deliver large scale mmWave 5G deployments across a number of key markets. Working closely with our partners and their customers, we are seeing a diverse and growing range of emerging applications for our technology – whether it be for drone-to-drone communications or private enterprise networks. We’d like to thank all our shareholders for their continued support at this pivotal commercialisation phase.”
Noel Hurley, VP Strategy at Arm commented: “Blu Wireless’s mmWave technology offers an agility that will help drive the future of 5G connectivity. With their deep expertise and a proven track record, they continue to be an exceptional partner to Arm.”
Alexander Crawford, co-Head of Investments at Calculus Capital, stated: “Blu Wireless is establishing itself as a world leader in enabling multi-gigabit mmWave connectivity. We are very excited about the opportunities and prospects ahead for the company and the management team.”
Shane Gallwey, Fund Manager at Guinness Asset Management said: “We’re delighted to be backing Blu Wireless. We can clearly see the technology’s potential for existing and future applications in 5G. It was a straightforward decision for us to invest.”
To allow Blu Wireless to serve their growing international customer base and deliver commercial mmWave deployments worldwide, while continuing to drive the advancement of 5G technology, the company will be scaling their sales, software and customer applications support teams.