Ember, a US-based wireless communications technology connecting devices, homes and the grid, has sold to trade peer Silicon Labs for less than its previously raised $89m from venture capital (VC) firms and strategic partners Chevron Technology Ventures, Stata Venture Partners, STMicroelectronics and Hitachi and university Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
US-based chip company Silicon Labs acquired Ember for $72m.
Founded in 2001 by ethernet inventor Bob Metcalfe, Ember helped build a low power wireless standard and chip technology to create sensor networks and the internet of things, ZigBee, which is also the dominant wireless tech for smart meters and home energy devices.
US-listed industrial conglomerate General Electric (GE) provided $63m to 15 partner technologies in June last year, including Ember and SunRun, which has separately raised $60m from VC firms Madrone Capital Partners, Accel Partners, Sequoia Capital and Foundation Capital.
Ember’s VC backers included Polaris Venture Partners, GrandBanks Capital, RRE Ventures, Vulcan Capital, DFJ ePlanet Ventures, DFJ New England, WestLB Mellon Asset Management (formerly West AM).