US-based electronic switch developer Menlo Micro was spun out of conglomerate GE on Tuesday with $18.7m in funding provided by investors including GE’s corporate venturing arm GE Ventures.
Semiconductor technology producer Microsemi Corporation, speciality glass manufacturer Corning and investment firm Paladin Capital Group also took part in the funding round.
Based on research conducted over twelve years at GE’s Global Research Center, Menlo Micro has re-invented the electronic switch – an integral part of an electric circuit that diverts or interrupts a current from one conductor to another – to adapt it to modern day applications such 5G mobile networks, the industrial internet of things, smart homes and electric vehicles.
The product, called Digital-Micro-Switch platform, is capable of handling more kilowatts and provides more electrical performance in a micromechanical device with the size, speed, cost and efficiency of a solid-state device.
Risa Stack, general manager of new business creation for GE Ventures, said: “GE’s transformation to become the world’s premier digital industrial company requires innovation at many levels, from software and analytics to sensing and connecting the physical and digital worlds.
“With the creation of Menlo Micro, and the scale-up of the Digital-Micro-Switch technology, GE will be able to accelerate its digital initiatives across multiple businesses, from healthcare to aviation to energy Management and beyond.”