17 September 2003 Bristol, UK Lightwave -- Phyworks Limited, a fabless semiconductor company developing electronic solutions to overcome signal degradation on optical fibers, has raised second-round funding of $13.3 million (£8.3M). The capital will be used to further develop its range of optical networking integrated circuits and to accelerate its sales and marketing activities. Advent Venture Partners led the round, with existing investors Atlas Venture, Add Partners, and Prelude also participating.
Phyworks' products address the four key issues that lead to limitations in today's optical equipment and optical module design and manufacture--namely cost, size, power, and performance. Phyworks focuses on advanced Electronic Dispersion Compensation (EDC), Forward Error Correction (FEC), and Physical Medium Device (PMD) products that address these limitations, leading to more cost effective optical networks. The company expects to be in evaluation with its lead EDC customers in the fourth quarter of this year. Phyworks' core target market is the telecommunications sector--particularly the growing data communications and storage markets, where their products will play a key role in bringing down costs while improving high speed performance.
Phyworks, which has raised $25 million to date, was founded in mid 2001 by a management team experienced in the optical IC market. The company currently employs over 35 people, the majority of whom are involved in product development roles and has a Board of Directors and technical advisory staff drawn from key industry players and several of the UK's leading academic institutions.
