GainSpan eyes domestic opportunities

US-headquartered GainSpan, a privately-held company, which specialises in semiconductor solutions for the wireless sensor network, is looking at opportunities for growth in the Indian market.

Started in 2006 by a core team of engineers, GainSpan spun off from Intel Corporation, enables and accelerates the adoption of new wireless usage models. Its products are in the deployment stage through original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) in the US.

"While wireless sensor networks have seen a steady growth over the past few years, their market potential has been hindered by power consumption issues and a lack of mature standards-based solutions. The solution was a new Wi-Fi semiconductor and software solutions that enable sensors and other devices to run up to 10 years on a single battery," said GainSpan President & CEO Vijay Parmar.

Gainspan's products allow users to leverage the global Wi-Fi standard and existing tools for new applications like temperature monitoring for energy management, condition monitoring industrial equipment in manufacturing plants or streetlights in metro areas.

In buildings, they assist in monitoring indoor air quality, security, safety and in healthcare, asset tracking and cold chain management can be carried out.

"We have received encouraging feedback from clients. We are looking at Indian companies and negotiations are on with them," Parmar added.

The company operates a development centre in Bangalore. "The entire semiconductor design and software development takes place in Bangalore. We expect the centre to expand in the coming days," he said.

Initially, GainSpan raised $10.5 million from various VC firms. Last month, the company completed its series B funding round, raising $20 million. The second round is being led by Opus Capital with participation from returning investors including Intel Capital, New Venture Partners, OVP Venture Partners and Sigma Partners.

It will use the additional funding for technology innovation and global business expansion apart from new market penetration. GainSpan plans to expand its global sales team and target emerging markets beyond its initial industrial and commercial automation focus.

Funds will also be used for product development, both to expand its Wi-Fi semiconductor product family and to continue developing solutions around both software and silicon architectures.