BridgeCo Announces $7.5M Investment
BridgeCo Press Release - Business Wire on 19/12/2009
BridgeCo Announces a $7.5M Equity Investment to Fuel Growth in Connected Consumer Electronics Space
Market for Connected Home Audio Projected to Grow over 300% in 2010
EL SEGUNDO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--BridgeCo® Inc. (www.bridgeco.com), a leader in networked entertainment technology, announced today a $7.5 million investment to support the rapid growth in connected home audio. A 2009 report, published by Eureca Research, projects the market to grow by over 300% in 2010*. BridgeCo’s financing will serve to accelerate the company’s technology development, support its rapid growth and fund the expansion of the company’s customer base and global design partner program.
“This funding helps us meet the growing needs of our Tier 1 customers and their markets,” said BridgeCo CEO, Gene Sheridan. “With the rapid market growth, we need to deliver cost-effective connectivity and a broader range of features for a variety of home audio products from A/V receivers, iPod docking stations, kitchen radios, to mini systems and home theaters.”
BridgeCo’s market-leading JukeBlox™ technology platform combines a multi-core networked media processor with a full featured, embedded software design kit (SDK). The processor and SDK are integrated in to a turn-key WiFi certified module. The second generation platform, JukeBlox 2.0™, will be launched next year, extending BridgeCo’s industry leadership by offering dramatically lower price points with unprecedented features sets.
BridgeCo’s technology powers some of the biggest consumer electronics brands in the world with customers like Denon®, Pioneer®, Nokia®, Harman-Kardon® and Philips®. With consumer demand for connectivity reaching an unprecedented level, the company is preparing for a significant increase in the CE brands coming to market using BridgeCo technology over the next 24 months.
According to Jordan Watters, BridgeCo SVP of Sales & Marketing, “Our Design Partner Program, launched in 2008, has been a great success, bringing our technology to more customers around the world, small and large. Our new financing allows us to expand this program by bringing on additional partners and adding infrastructure to support customers. We will be ready for the accelerating growth in 2010 and beyond.”
The financing was led by existing investor Earlybird Venture Capital and private investor, Christian Wenger, along with a new private investor, Brian Long, a General Partner with private equity firm, Atlantic Bridge. Brian will also join the Board of Directors as Chairman. “We see BridgeCo in a strong leadership position, as well as a rapidly increasing demand for home CE product connectivity” says Brian. “This is an exciting market with tremendous opportunity, as all products are becoming connected. We look forward to working with BridgeCo and supporting their efforts to enable and lead this new market opportunity.”
* Eureca Research, March 2009, Author: Gareth Owen.
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BridgeCo Inc. is the leading provider of network media processors and related software, middleware and SDK solutions for enabling network and internet connectivity for consumer electronics in the home. BridgeCo’s JukeBlox technology integrates a broad range of functionality including internet radio with premium services such as Pandora®, Last.FM®, Rhapsody®, Napster® & Sirius®, wired or wireless streaming of digital music over uPnP and DLNA standards, iPod® and USB functionality, a broad suite of codecs, protocols and DRM standards, as well as traditional home audio functionality such as AM/FM radio and clock/alarm functionality. BridgeCo is an ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 certified company with operations in El Segundo, California, Bangalore, India and sales offices and a distributor network throughout the world.