Israel’s Celeno raises $38m to boost growth

Celeno Communications, a maker of high performance wi-fi chips and software, said it has raised new funds for a total of $38 million to push growth.

The funding round was led by Red Dot Capital Partners, backed by the Singapore based investment company Temasek. Other new investors are Poalim Capital Markets, the investment arm of Israel’s Bank Hapoalim, and OurCrowd. Existing investors, including Liberty Global, Cisco and Pitango Venture Capital, also participated in the round. Zvika Naggan, managing partner at Red Dot, has joined Celeno’s board of directors.

Raanana, Israel-based Celeno will use the money raised to increase its investment in new technology and R&D activities, as well as raise its global presence and increase its sales and marketing activities to support the increased demand for its products, the company said in a statement.

“Tens of millions” of its wi-fi chipsets are being used by service providers in home gateways, routers and set-top boxes to deliver the speed, coverage, reliability and performance wi-fi users need, the statement said.

“Celeno has made the crucial transition from an innovative, disruptive startup to a global player alongside some of the wi-fi semiconductor industry’s largest players and the solution of choice for many of the most important global service providers,” said Naggan. “The growth and worldwide market presence that Celeno has established over time is remarkable, and a testament to their approach and the quality of their products.”