Edgar Garay is CEO and founding father of Falcomm.
Ventures Staff led the spherical with participation from Cambium Capital, Draper Cygnus, and the Georgia Tech Basis.
Falcomm is constructed on breakthroughs revamped six years within the lab of founder and CEO Edgar Garay to revolutionize the facility amplifier, a semiconductor present in units from satellites to IoT to cellphones, that situations and blasts the 1s and 0s from software program via an antenna. Falcomm’s Twin-Drive PA combines ultra-efficient efficiency with an structure that lends itself to manufacturing at scale.
“Energy amplifiers are the workhorse of the fashionable digital period, however enchancment to this know-how hasn’t stored tempo with the rise of the innovation economic system,” stated Garay, who holds a doctorate in electrical engineering from Georgia Tech’s Faculty of Electrical and Pc Engineering, the place he performed the analysis that led to the formation of his startup.
“Falcomm’s ultra-efficient, silicon-proven know-how will carry advances in energy and effectivity to the semiconductor business that assist communications producers to comprehend huge effectivity beneficial properties, whereas decreasing prices. With pressing challenges within the setting and provide chain, we are able to’t wait one other 90 years for change.”
With simultaneous transmission at every terminal of a transistor, the Twin-Drive PA delivers efficiency that’s 1.8 instances extra environment friendly at 2 instances larger energy, with half of the silicon space necessities of conventional energy amplifiers. For producers, these beneficial properties will scale back thermal administration and power prices, whereas easing total system necessities.
A patented architectural design permits the product to be manufactured in excessive quantity by semiconductor foundries in the US. With fabless know-how, the corporate is poised to develop a community of business companions that catalyzes growth within the $23 billion energy amplifier market.
Born in Venezuela, Garay developed a ardour for utilizing science and engineering to resolve issues whereas repairing equipment on a farm in his hometown. Whereas pursuing doctoral research at Georgia Tech, he acknowledged the chance to carry innovation to the facility amplifier, which had not modified in a long time regardless of the fast advance of know-how and its important function in units.
Garay’s analysis resulted in a number of patents, spurring him to spin out the know-how and create Falcomm via help from Georgia Tech assets, together with VentureLab and CREATE-X. Falcomm is the primary firm to obtain funding from the Georgia Tech Basis.
“Georgia Tech is proud to help our tutorial innovators to assist them guarantee their innovations have real-world affect,” stated Raghupathy Sivakumar, Georgia Tech’s vp of Commercialization and chief commercialization officer. “The Workplace of Commercialization is quickly increasing our applications and initiatives to construct out the biggest and most strong entrepreneurial ecosystem at any public college. I’m completely happy to say that Falcomm is the recipient of the primary fairness funding out of our new Analysis Affect Fund focused particularly at spinouts based mostly on Georgia Tech mental property.”
The Falcomm staff was just lately bolstered by the addition of pioneering business leaders who’ve demonstrated a observe document of innovation in telecommunications, wi-fi, and semiconductors:
- Thomas Cameron, Ph.D., chief technique officer, is a 35-year veteran of know-how analysis and growth within the wi-fi business. Throughout a 12-year stint at Analog Units, Cameron served as chief know-how officer of the Communications Enterprise Unit and was a number one evangelist for the adoption of 5G connectivity. He held management and engineering roles within the RF business at Bell Northern Analysis, Nortel, Sirenza Microdevices, and WJ Communications. Cameron has seven patents in wi-fi know-how and has authored quite a few papers and technical articles.
- Ned Cahoon, director of Foundry and Buyer Relationships, brings greater than 20 years of RF enterprise growth expertise throughout the cell and wi-fi infrastructure industries. He helped to face up IBM’s $1 billion RF enterprise earlier than becoming a member of GlobalFoundries in 2016, the place he served as a fellow within the workplace of the chief know-how officer. A senior design and go-to-market chief, Cahoon brings expertise constructing networks throughout foundries, academia, and know-how firms.
For Falcomm, the funding follows rapidly on the heels of the corporate’s choice to the TechCrunch Startup Battlefield 200 in 2023. The corporate is a graduate of the Berkeley SkyDeck Accelerator and the EvoNexus incubator.
Bringing innovation to the tiny energy amplifier can have an enormous affect on a few of the nation’s most urgent challenges. The power effectivity beneficial properties ensuing from a rise in energy output come at a time of rising urgency round local weather change. The flexibility to fabricate domestically comes at a time when nearshoring is a precedence to deal with value and provide chain challenges underscored by the worldwide semiconductor scarcity and ensuing CHIPS Act.
“Edgar and his staff are simply as inspiring as they’re hard-working. They’ve proven that it’s potential to assemble the expertise and operations to innovate on a foundational know-how that hasn’t seen significant advances in a long time wherever within the nation,” stated Man Filippelli, Squadra Ventures’ managing companion. “By boosting effectivity and manufacturing domestically within the important semiconductor business, Falcomm’s improvements will bolster American competitiveness.”
The funding shall be used to speed up go-to-market actions with satellite tv for pc firms and wi-fi infrastructure producers, advance the corporate’s patented know-how, and increase the staff. Falcomm is actively hiring for roles in operations, engineering, and design. View job openings.