Ethernovia Raises $64 Million to Accelerate the Revolution of Vehicle Networks

Porsche SE, Qualcomm Ventures, VentureTech Alliance, AMD and others invest in Ethernovia for vehicle networks that drive down cost and complexity while improving power efficiency in next-generation architectures

SAN JOSE, Calif. – MAY 15, 2023 – Ethernovia, Inc., a Silicon Valley-based startup, today announced that it has completed its A-round financing of $64 million. The funding round consists of multiple investors, including Porsche Automobile Holding SE (Porsche SE), Qualcomm Ventures, VentureTech Alliance, AMD Ventures, Western Digital Capital, Fall Line Capital, Taiwania Capital, ENEA Capital and others.

As vehicle architectures evolve from domain-centric controllers, networking solutions must concurrently evolve to support higher data rates of advanced vehicle applications while meeting demand for improved reliability and security. Such advanced applications include Advanced Driver-Assisted Systems (ADAS), autonomous driving (AD) and a rich ecosystem of customer software delivered Over the Air (OTA).

Ethernovia is developing a seamless, holistic and streamlined hardware and software system that meets this demand through the integration of advanced networking features targeting the future of software-defined vehicles.

“We are extremely grateful for the vote of confidence this group of industry-leading investors has given Ethernovia’s technology and vision for the future of the connected car,” said Ramin Shirani, Ethernovia co-founder and CEO. “We take great pride in developing the cutting-edge network architecture to power the car of the future. These innovations set a new industry expectation in what can be achieved in meeting the cost, power and flexibility that car manufacturers and consumers demand in new vehicles.”

According to a report from market research organization Future Market Insights, the 2023 global automotive connectivity market is valued at $33.42 billion and is expected to reach a high of $190.29 billion by 2033. The report attributes that growth to several factors, including tightening safety regulations, increased sales of luxury vehicles, the advent of 5G infrastructure, the rise of vehicle autonomy and the “increasing prevalence of integrated connectivity.”

“The trends towards electrification and connectivity in the automotive industry as well as developments in the field of automated driving result in ever increasing requirements on fast and secure data transmission from a wide variety of sources in vehicles and to the cloud,” said Lutz Meschke, Porsche SE board of management member responsible for investment management. “To address these central challenges of automotive transformation, Ethernovia offers technologically leading, integrated Ethernet chips with high bandwidth and advanced security solutions for the energy-efficient processing of large amounts of data. With our investment in Ethernovia, we are excited to support the world-leading experts in bringing the latest Ethernet technologies to vehicles around the world.”

“The connected car of the future requires high bandwidth and secure in-vehicle communication,” said Carlos Kokron, vice president, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. and managing director, Qualcomm Ventures Americas. “Ethernovia’s solution transforms the automobile’s communication network by providing a reliable, standards-based, high-speed connectivity needed to enable the software-defined vehicle. We’re excited to invest in Ethernovia to accelerate the transformation of automotive.”

Ethernovia was founded in 2018 by Shirani and a team of experienced semiconductor innovators, including Roy Myers, senior vice president of engineering; Hossein Sederat, chief technology officer; and Darren Engelkemier, vice president of silicon engineering. Today, the company’s executive team also includes Christopher Mash, vice president of business development, and Klaas Bult, vice president of data acquisition.

About Ethernovia

At Ethernovia, we are evolving the future of automobile networks that enable the autonomous driving and electrical vehicle (EV) revolutions. Our breakthrough data transport and acceleration technology ushers in a new era of car connectivity and capabilities required for the software-defined vehicle (SDV).

About Qualcomm Ventures

Qualcomm Ventures, acting through Qualcomm Ventures LLC or its affiliated entities, has been making strategic investments in technology companies that have the potential to dramatically transform our world since 2000. As a global investor, we look to help entrepreneurs build revolutionary businesses that reshape the world around us. For more information please visit: www.qualcommventures.com.