Amphion Semiconductor, a Belfast-based provider of virtual components for broadband and multimedia communications, yesterday announced that it had closed a $5 million (€4.3 million) funding round, led by the Dublin-based ACT venture capital firm.
The syndicate Apax Partners, leaders in the previous funding round, also invested, together with the venture capital company Enterprise Equity. A new investment was secured from Invest Northern Ireland.
It is the company's third funding round and the last, according to Amphion chief executive Dr JG Doherty.
"This latest investment is enough to see us through to self sufficiency. We have already demonstrated that we can double our revenues year on year and that's a pretty impressive record for a technology company in these times," Dr Doherty said.
He added that there were increasing signs that the technology downturn was reversing as "the company is gaining substantial traction among the industry's influential leaders".
He said that the funds would enable the company to "push more on the sales and marketing side" and stressed that the future focus was on delivering the "value solutions" that customers had identified as "essential to their own future success".
Describing Amphion as "bloodied but still standing" following the three-year bear market, Dr Doherty said its success in winning the latest funding round demonstrated its core growth opportunities.
"Venture capital companies are more vigilant than ever now when it comes to investing in technology companies and, to win this funding with ACT, we underwent the most vigorous scrutiny and due diligence," he explained.
Mr Walter Hobbs, the ACT director who led the investment said: "Amphion has world-class IP [internet protocol\] with a proven record of fitting seamlessly into major chip-design projects. Its impressive blue-chip customer traction in the current difficult climate is testimony to the quality of the IP and the Amphion SIP [Session Initiation Protocol\] business model."
Two years ago, Amphion, which was rated as one of the North's most successful university spin-outs, planned to float on the London or Nasdaq stock exchanges but postponed it to ride out the downturn. Dr Doherty believes it is too early to consider an initial public offering (IPO) but said the company would consider its options later.
He said that, although the prospect of an IPO "was always on the horizon", the company's focus was on returning to "near-term profitability".
Dr Doherty admitted that the structure of the stakeholders in Amphion had changed considerably following the latest funding round, although he declined to give details on the percentage holdings of the various investors.
Mr Don Maher of ACT Venture Capital has joined the board of Amphion, which also includes Mr McMonigall of Apax Partners. In negotiating the funding, Amphion was advised by corporate finance house Ion Equity.
