WiQuest Communications, a start-up based in Allen, Texas, raised $13 million in funding for its ultra wideband (UWB) technology. WiQuest said it is building complete solutions for ultrawideband applications, from mobile handsets and portable gaming to audio/video systems in the modern digital home. The technology is expected to enable a new class of consumer product features, including wireless multimedia, flexible PC connectivity, and simplified, lower cost home theatre installation.
As an early contributing member of the MultiBand OFDM Alliance Special Interest Group (MBOA-SIG), WiQuest engineers have been actively involved in the development of the recently released MBOA-SIG physical layer (PHY) as well as the media access control (MAC) specifications.
WiQuest supports the MultiBand OFDM UWB proposal, currently under consideration in the IEEE 802.15 personal area network working group. The company is also a member of the USB Implementer’s Forum and is active in its nascent wireless USB efforts.
The new funding was led by Menlo Ventures and Palomar Ventures. http://www.WiQuest.com
- WiQuest was founded by and is headed by Matthew B. Shoemake, who most recently served as Director of Advanced Technology for Texas Instruments WLAN Business Unit. Shoemake was an initial team member at Alantro Communications which was acquired for $300 million by Texas Instruments in 2000. Dr. Shoemake served the IEEE 802.11 Working Group for over five years in various capacities including chairing the 400-plus member IEEE 802.11n Task Group that is setting the standard for the next generation of Wi-Fi products and chairing the IEEE 802.11g Task Group, which extends Wi-Fi data rates to 54 Mbps. Dr. Shoemake is co-inventor of the high performance option (PBCC) in the 802.11b and 802.11g standards, and he was a lead designer of TI’s IEEE 802.11b compliant processors.
- WiQuest Communications was founded in September 2003.