NexWave Raises $7 Million in VC -- ADTmag

NexWave Raises $7 Million in VC

By Barry Zellen
March 5, 2001

NexWave, a French developer of embedded systems software, has completed its first round of financing, raising $7 Million from Mentor Valley.

NexWave had received earlier seed funding from two regional seed-funding organizations, benefiting from the aid of ANVAR (Agency for Commercialized Research) and DATAR (French National Development Agency). The company provides technology solutions for the design and development of embedded electronic systems intended for the telecommunications and electronics markets (wireless phones, Webphones, PDAs, and navigation systems).

With the completion of its first round, NexWave plans to fund its international expansion by opening subsidiaries in the US, England, Germany, and Asia by the end of 2001.

"This first round of financing will allow us to realize our ambition, which is to establish NexWave's solutions as the standard for software in the embedded systems market," says Michel Hodzaj, CEO of NexWave Solutions. "To accomplish this goal, NexWave will begin by expanding its team on an international level. We expect to hire more than 100 people by the end of the year for R (Research and Development) and international offices."

Krishna Gopala, co-founder of Mentor Valley, added, "We were looking for a company combining genuine technological innovation with a very strong management team capable of developing and deploying internationally. NexWave perfectly matches our requirements."

Founded in France in 1998, NexWave offers a components-based framework under which developers can create operating systems and applications for the embedded market. The solution is optimized for the rapid creation of intelligent systems, as well as for those requiring Internet access. NexWave has entered into numerous partnerships with major companies in these markets to make its technology a new standard.