India's Ineda Systems raises $17m Series B round
Ineda Systems, a US and India-based developer of chip components targeting the wearable and internet of things (IoT) segment, has raised a $17 million round of Series B funding led by Walden-Riverwood Ventures.
Samsung Catalyst Fund, Qualcomm Ventures and IndusAge Partners also took part in the round alongside existing investor Imagination Technologies.
Set up in 2010, Ineda designs and builds a "system on a chip" (SoC), an integrated circuit that integrates all components of an electronic device into a single chip. The technology is widely used in various internet-enabled devices such as smart watches and fitness trackers. The company has offices in California and Hyderabad.
The company - which previously raised a $10 million round last year - will use this latest capital injection to develop its new class of integrated, ultra-low power semiconductor and software products. Aimed at the wearable segment, the new products can help extend the standby time of a device to months instead of days.
"The market is primed for a new class of semiconductor architecture that is specifically designed to be ultra-low power and high performance for use in the rapidly growing wearable technology space," said Dasaradha Gude, CEO of Ineda.
According to a recent report by US research firm Markets & Markets, the wearable electronics market by was worth $2.7 billion globally in 2012 and is expected to reach $8.3 billion in 2018.
Unsurprisingly, VC investors are increasingly targeting this sector. Last month, Persistent Venture Fund, a VC fund controlled by Indian software and technology company Persistent Systems, invested in Hyginex, a US-based wearable technology manufacturer specializing in healthcare applications.
Recent investments involving Asian start-ups also include a Shenzhen Capital-led Series B round of funding for Chinese wearable manufacturer Codoon. Around the same time, Cherubic Ventures provided seed funding for iFit, a Taiwanese online fitness information provider, to help it develop its own wearable technology.
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