Morse Micro secures $59m funding to lead the next era of IoT

Australian startup Morse Micro, a leading provider of Wi-Fi HaLow silicon services, has announced the successful close of a Series C funding round and entered into mass production of Wi-Fi HaLow technology including system on a chip (SoC), modules and evaluation kits.

The designation for certified products incorporating IEEE 802.11ah technology, Wi-Fi Certified HaLow is intended to augment Wi-Fi by operating in spectrum below 1 gigahertz (GHz).

Intended to enable the low-power connectivity necessary for applications including sensor networks and wearables, its range is longer than many other internet of things (IoT) technology options, and its proponents believe it will provide a more robust connection in challenging environments where the ability to penetrate walls or other barriers is an important consideration.

Wi-Fi HaLow is also built to deliver extended battery life, enhanced device density, minimised end-to-end delay, a higher level of security, ease of installation and management, and elevated data throughput in IoT scenarios.

Wi-Fi HaLow products will use narrow channel bandwidths, an increased number of supported devices and new operating modes to accommodate battery-operated devices.

The funding round was led by MegaChips with participation from the Australian government-established National Reconstruction Fund Corporation (NRFC), Blackbird, Main Sequence, Uniseed, Ray Stata, Malcolm and Lucy Turnbull, Startmate, and a number of institutional investors including Hostplus, NGS and UniSuper. This brings the company’s total funding to date to over $193m.

Morse Micro says the fresh capital will accelerate expansion into international markets, scale production of its Wi-Fi HaLow chips, and support the ecosystem shift towards what it calls IoT 2.0, a new phase characterised by high-throughput, long-range and highly scalable connectivity for IoT devices.

“This funding is another strong vote of confidence in our mission to be the number one wireless IoT chip company in the world, said Morse Micro CEO and co-founder Michael De Nil. “The future of IoT depends on connectivity that is long-range, power-efficient, secure and delivers on throughput, and that’s exactly where we’re leading. With this raise, we are accelerating our expansion and preparing for the next phase of our company’s growth.”

NRFC CEO David Gall added: “Morse Micro is Australia’s largest semiconductor manufacturer and a home-grown Australian success story. Wi-Fi was invented and patented by CSIRO scientists in 1993, and we are proud to be investing in an Australian company that is once again enabling next-generation Wi-Fi connectivity for the rest of the world.

“Morse Micro employs over 130 people in Australia, including employees in regional New South Wales, and our investment will diversify the Australian economy, strengthen the nation’s sovereign manufacturing capability, and build local expertise in semiconductor design and innovation.”

Tetsuo Hikawa, president and CEO of MegaChips Group, said: “We are proud to continue our support for Morse Micro as it leads the global transition to IoT 2.0. For a number of years, we have worked in partnership with Morse Micro to increase production and sales of its flagship Wi-Fi HaLow products. This investment reflects our belief that the time for Wi-Fi HaLow is now.

“Morse Micro is uniquely positioned to accelerate the adoption of next-generation IoT solutions. We are confident this investment positions the team and technology for international leadership and future success on the public markets.”

The funding comes just as Morse Micro announced the mass production and general availability of its second-generation MM8108 SoC. The company said the launch represents a major leap-forward for Wi-Fi HaLow, bringing “unparalleled” data throughput at range, which will enable the next generation of IoT and edge AI services.