Aussie chip maker Morse Micro raises $140m in funding for Wi-Fi tech

Morse Micro, a fabless semiconductor company that aims to reinvent Wi-Fi for the Internet of Things (IoT) has announced $140 million in Series B funding. The round was led by MegaChips Corporation, an ASIC and SoC services company based in Japan, with participation from existing investors including Blackbird Ventures, Main Sequence Ventures, Clean Energy Finance Corporation, Skip Capital, Uniseed, SpringCapital, Malcolm and Lucy Turnbull, and others.

Morse Micro intends to use the capital raised to achieve unprecedented scale and demand for its Wi-Fi HaLow technology. It will focus on deepening its offerings, including the design of new solutions, while accelerating the go-to-market strategy for its existing Wi-Fi HaLow chips and modules. A business partnership with MegaChips accompanies the investment and is predicted to bring in a new era for Wi-Fi HaLow across East Asia. Alongside manufacturing Morse Micro’s IEEE 802.11ah compliant semiconductors and modules, MegaChips will provide quality assurance, sales support and new distribution channels that will deliver scale across the region. The two companies will also engage in joint sales and promotion activities to grow the market for Wi-Fi HaLow solutions.

Wi-Fi HaLow is a Wi-Fi standard tailored to meet the needs of the IoT, making it a superior alternative to traditional Wi-Fi alternatives and other wireless technologies. Michael De Nil, co-founder and chief executive officer at Morse Micro, said that MegaChips’ financial backing and manufacturing and sales support will enable Morse Micro to achieve its goal of revolutionising IoT connectivity with its growing portfolio of Wi-Fi HaLow SoCs, modules, software and development tools.

“With growing market traction for Wi-Fi HaLow-compliant solutions in the IoT ecosystem, we’re at an exciting inflection point. MegaChips shares our vision to revolutionise connectivity and build enduring Wi-Fi HaLow solutions for the future. We are delighted to partner with them, and for the support we’ve had from all of our investors, as we take the next step forward in our company’s journey toward market scale and leadership,” De Nil said.

Since its launch in 2016, Morse Micro has focused on long-range, low-power wireless connectivity. With use-cases that extend across the complete IoT ecosystem, from consumer to commercial, industrial to agricultural use, Morse Micro enables wirelessly connected devices to achieve longer ranges, covering more area and volume compared to traditional Wi-Fi networks.

Tetsuo Hikawa, President and CEO of MegaChips Group, said Morse Micro’s management team has had a tremendous impact on the Wi-Fi industry, with the company expecting more accomplishments to come as it collaborates with Morse Micro to increase production and sales of its flagship Wi-Fi HaLow products.

“MegaChips pursues strategic partnerships and investments with promising startups like Morse Micro that have innovative ideas, cutting-edge applications and are expanding their businesses in areas such as industrial IoT, wireless communications and energy control,” Hikawa said.

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