Analog EDA Startup Closes Funding Round

Staff Reporter -- Electronic News, 5/9/2006

Santa Clara, Calif.-based analog testbench software and intellectual property (IP) startup Knowlent Corp. said today it recently closed its second round of funding, bringing total capital raised to $3.6 million.

The current round will be used to accelerate product development and proliferation, as well as tap into the talent pool in China for the company’s R&D needs.

Incubic Venture Fund, based in Mountain View, Calif. led the round. Existing investor AsiaTech Ventures, based in Santa Clara, also participated.

Knowlent president and CEO Sandipan Bhanot said in a statement, “Analog verification challenges are exploding today. Innovation in this demanding market has been long overdue. We are very happy to have the backing of experienced and savvy investors as we continue serving this need.”

Along with its funding, Knowlent also added veteran industry investors Jim Hogan and Bill Nighn to its board of directors.

EDA luminary and new board member Hogan said, “This investment validates Knowlent’s strategic focus. Rigorous verification of analog chip content has been a painful time-to-market stumbling block for decades. It has gotten completely out of hand in recent years due to increasing complexity.”

“For as long as analog semiconductors have been around, every analog designer has had to write his or her own unique testbench based on individual experience. Every designer, even on the same team, creates testbenches differently with very little re-use. Design groups are battling with these problems with increasing frustration. Knowlent solves these problems with a uniform testbench IP and methodology,” he added.

The second new board member is Dr. Bill Nighan, a venture capitalist with Incubic Venture Fund. Nighan has placed several hundred million dollars of high tech products in the field.