The California based company behind the ‘re-invention’ of an electric switch, Menlo Microsystems, announced the closing of the US$44m B Series funding round on 14th October 2020. This round was led by 40 North Ventures and the participation of global investor Paladin Capital Group, San-Francisco based VC PIVA, Vertical Venture Partners, and Future Shape. The funding will help the company to speed its growth in new markets over the coming years.
The funding details
The Series B funding round brings the total funding of Menlo Micro to US$78m to date. The enterprise is also backed by Microsemi and Corning. The enterprise had created a brand new class of electronic switches with its creation of Ideal SwitchTM. These switches combine the properties of solid-state and electromechanical switches that reduce the size, power, weight, and price for multiple industries like aerospace, defense, medical, industrial IoT, telecommunications, and consumer electronics. Melon Micro uses a novel alloy that minimizes the size of switches by 50 microns by 50 microns; this is roughly the thickness of human hair. This has enabled the hardware manufacturers to create new designs for the products that earlier required much larger parts.
The technology of Ideal Switch
Image Credits : Menlo Micro
The switches created by Menlo have many MEMS embedded on a single chip that works like a huge mechanical relay. With the incorporation of these micro-electronic systems (MEMS), they have created a miniature that has both electronic and mechanical components. The tiny switches deliver unparalleled RE-performance and 1,000 Watts high handling power efficiency. According to the founders of the company, with the increased durability and massive size minimization, the potential uses of Ideal Switch are limitless. These are the perfect combination of silicon transistor and electromechanical relay.
The applications and advantages of this technology can be counted with commercial applications like Wi-Fi connections, radio frequencies, microwave switching, and 5G cellular networks. The enterprise has already sent their samples from its production unit to its 30 lead consumers in several industries. And with the newly raised funding, they will be boosting production so as to meet the demand.
In the last 30 months, Menlo Micro has completed the qualification and transfer of processes involved in manufacturing and has moved from a 40-inch research fan to an 8-inch high volume manufacturing line. With the present qualifications, they expect to bring their production to 100,000 units/month by the end of 2020 and eventually reach the milestone of producing millions of switches in a month by 2021.
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