What venture capital drought? Chipmaker Achronix Semiconductor Corp. has just raised $52 million in a Series B funding round, one of the largest chip sector fundraisings of the year.
The funding was led by Argonaut Private Equity, with participation from returning investors Battery Ventures, Easton Capital Investment Group, New Science Ventures and Entrepia Ventures. Achronix says that $43 million of the total funding closed on Oct. 10 and the remainder will close over the next several weeks. The company has now raised total of about $77 million after last year collecting $25.4 million in an initial round of funding (it was self-funded previously).
Achronix is a fabless maker of field programmable gate arrays, or FPGAs, which end users can customize to their own needs.
"The challenging macroeconomic environment has raised the bar for companies seeking financing of this magnitude," says Argonaut managing director Jason Martin in a statement. "Achronix's disruptive FPGA technology packaged in a familiar design environment, a strong track record of execution and tremendous customer traction for Speedster all presented a compelling opportunity for us."
Other semiconductor companies that have raised money of late include programmable chipmaker Stretch Inc., which in March received $27 million in a second round; and chip designer eAsic Corp., which in March raised $48 million in a fourth funding round.
--Andrea OrrSee Oct. 15 story on Achronix new funding from San Jose Business Journal
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