Software Radio Developer Closes $32 Million Investment

Vanu, a provider of software radio infrastructure solutions for cellular operators, has announced a US$32 million venture capital investment. Norwest Venture Partners (NVP) led this round of funding, while previous investor Charles River Ventures and Tata Capital participated in the round which will be used to support business development, marketing and integration currently underway in India.

Vanu is also in the process of significantly expanding its presence in India through increased staffing and the signing of strategic partnerships.

Vanu grew out of research in software radio at MIT and was founded in 1998. It is the developer of the Anywave Base Station, the first U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC)-certified software radio. AnywaveÃ's software-only design runs on commercial off-the-shelf servers, rather than proprietary hardware, and is said to be the only Radio Access Network (RAN) product to simultaneously support multiple cellular waveform standards on the same platform.

Anywave has been deployed by cellular operators in the United States and Canada. Additionally, current evaluations are underway in India and other international markets.

"VanuÃ's innovative technology clearly delivers a unique value proposition to wireless carriers," said Promod Haque, managing partner at Norwest Venture Partners. "Nowhere is this needed more than in India. The combination of explosive market growth and low ARPU requires new and innovative infrastructure solutions. We are extremely impressed with the Vanu executive team and the companyÃ's traction to date. We believe Vanu is well positioned to capture the leadership position in this rapidly growing global market."

Posted to the site on 4th September 2008