Siklu Raises $19 Million for Cheaper Wireless Bandwidth

Israeli startup **Siklu Wireless Communications** has raised a series B round of $19 million led by new investors Amiti Ventures, Qualcomm Ventures and joined by all existing investors: DFJ- Tamir Fishman Ventures, Evergreen Venture Partners and Argonaut Private Equity. Another strategic investor (CVC) joined the round but remained undisclosed. Siklu Wireless Communications has previously raised $12 million in 2008, bringing the funding to date to $31 million.

As a scalable and flexible carrier-grade millimeter wave Gigabit Ethernet radio solutions, Siklu’s flagship product is EtherHaul is a carrier-class, high-capacity E-band radio that dramatically lowers the cost of wireless and Ethernet backhaul. Siklu claims to reduce the cost of high capacity wireless backhaul by 20% through an innovative silicon-based design of the millimeter wave radio system and components.

In the official announcement, the new investors explained their fascination with Siklu. Nagraj Kashyap, VP of Qualcomm Ventures, said:

“Backhaul has become an important consideration for operators as they continue to expand their high-speed 3G networks and plan their 4G strategies. Siklu has taken a creative approach to this challenge with its miniature picocell architecture, giving operators a cost-effective means to bolster their backhaul capacity. We’re looking forward to working with Siklu.”

Anil Khatod, Managing Director of Argonaut Private Equity adds:

“Data explosion, driven by growth of smart phones and tablets, necessitates need for cost-effective and reliable carriage of data. Siklu’s innovative design provides a simple and reliable solution while dramatically reducing cost”

Founded in 2007 by Izik Kirshenbaum (chairman and president) Siklu has approximately 30 employees and is based in Petach Tikva, Israel.