Mobile semiconductor technology producer Qualcomm has exited radio frequency (RF) technology provider Cavendish Kinetics in an acquisition of undisclosed size by RF equipment producer Qorvo.
Spun off from Cambridge University, Cavendish produces micro-electromechanical systems technology used to enhance antenna tuning in smartphones, improving reception and mobile data rates.
The deal follows at least $68.5m in funding for Cavendish, which raised $36m in a 2015 round that included $25m from Qorvo subsidiary Triquent Semiconductor.
Tallwood Venture Capital and Wellington Partners co-led the company’s $7m series C round the previous year, investing alongside Qualcomm’s corporate venturing vehicle, Qualcomm Ventures. The same three investors had provided $10m in 2011.
Cavendish had already raised $15.5m in a 2006 round it described as its second. Tallwood led the round, which included Wellington Partners and existing backers Celtic House Venture Partners, Clarium Holdings, Torteval Investments and an unnamed private investor.
