SkyCross Secures $23 Million in New Investment, Capping Record Growth Year

VIERA, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--SkyCross, a global antenna solutions company, announced today that it has secured $23 million in financing led by Investor Growth Capital. The investment caps highly successful 2008 results for SkyCross, which reported 65 percent year-over-year revenue growth. The investment will fuel further expansion as SkyCross continues to broaden its geographic reach, gain additional worldwide Tier 1 customers, and enter new market segments.

“Investor Growth Capital is a highly respected player in our industry, and we are pleased to have the firm aboard”

SkyCross currently serves a range of market segments including handsets, data cards, USB dongles, laptops, access points, mobile personal entertainment devices, and more. This comprehensive antenna portfolio bundles high performance, small size, and competitive pricing to support any combination of protocols including GSM, CDMA, HSPA, 802.11a/g/b/n, WiMAX, LTE, etc.

The company’s performance in 2008 is the latest in a four-year span that has produced over 50 percent growth annually. In early 2008, SkyCross announced iMAT technology, a disruptive innovation that consolidates the performance benefits of multiple antennas into a single low-cost antenna. Following this breakthrough, SkyCross received several prestigious industry awards: Fierce15, Portable Design Editor’s Choice Innovation of the Year, EE Times Most Promising Technology Finalist, and Nollenberger Capital privately held technology company with compelling and innovative solutions.

SkyCross consistently provides antennas for pioneering and bestselling devices throughout Asia and the United States. At CES earlier this month, Samsung introduced its Haptic and Omnia touch screen smartphone models; each contains multiple SkyCross antennas for voice, Internet, mobile video, and more. Last year, the first USB device certified by the WiMAX Forum was powered by an iMAT antenna to support global WiMAX frequencies and WiFi. SkyCross also provided antennas for the only ExpressCard offered by Sprint XOHM for its first WiMAX launch in the United States. The Samsung Blackjack II, which Consumer Reports recently named as the best smartphone of 2008, and the Samsung Juke topped sales rankings; SkyCross antennas enable wireless connectivity for both devices.

“SkyCross has consistently produced rapid revenue growth, game-changing technical innovation, and important Tier 1 customer wins,” said Dr. Albert Kim, Vice President at Investor Growth Capital. “The ability of SkyCross to enable sleek, high performance devices at far lower cost sets the company apart from the competition. We look forward to working with SkyCross.”

“Investor Growth Capital is a highly respected player in our industry, and we are pleased to have the firm aboard,” said Dr. Chris Morton, CEO of SkyCross. “We are fortunate to have such a strong set of investors and are particularly proud to have secured this investment in the current economic environment.”

Investor Growth Capital is the wholly owned venture capital arm of Investor AB, which is publicly traded on the Stockholm exchange and is the largest listed industrial holding company in Northern Europe. The company was founded in 1916 to continue the Wallenberg family's tradition of financing and building best-in-class companies. Investor Growth Capital joins a strong team of SkyCross investors including TL Ventures, Gabriel Venture Partners, Intel Capital, SK Telecom, BAE Systems, MILCOM, and Investment Partners of Orlando. Dr. Kim of Investor Growth Capital has joined the board of directors at SkyCross.

About SkyCross

SkyCross (www.skycross.com) is a global wireless company providing antenna-centric RF solutions to the mobile phone, home entertainment, and computing industries. SkyCross provides high-performance, frequency-agile, protocol-independent antenna technology bundled with RF system-level expertise and responsive regional support. This convenient approach empowers device manufacturers to develop winning consumer electronics products and deliver them to market faster and easier. Founded in 2000, SkyCross is ISO 9001 certified and supports customers from its full-service facilities in the USA, South Korea, and China.