Dutch start-up Qualinx’s series A financing for all-digital GNSS IoT wireless technology has hit $20m.

Qualinx specialises in low-power wireless tracking and connectivity semiconductors. An extra $10.2m adds to the $8.8m investment announced earlier this year.

Qualinx now has sufficient financing to complete the development of its second-generation GNSS IoT radio system-on-chip (SoC) and to commence mass production next year.

Founded as a spin-off from Delft University of Technology and supported by earlier investments from Delft Enterprises, the company developed and successfully tested a radio chip that can receive geo-positioning information from GNSS with a ten times lower power consumption, smaller chip size and at reduced costs compared with existing options. The chip can detect signals from all major satellite systems including GPS, to determine location and time accurately.

The new round comes from existing investors, Forward.One, InnovationQuarter Capital and Waterman Ventures, and includes an innovation credit facility from the Netherlands Enterprise Agency, RVO.

“This next step in our series A financing round shows the confidence of our existing investors in DRF technology, and our successful application for RVO’s innovation credit facility reaffirms that our technology and market strategy are on track,” said Tom Trill, CEO of Qualinx.”

The firm’s digital radio frequency (DRF) technology transfers most of a wireless chip’s analogue functions into the digital domain. This brings cmos scaling benefits to GPS-like radios and to other standard, short and long-range radios. In all these devices, DFR functions can be configured in software to tailor the radio’s performance precisely for each application, while delivering up to ten times power reduction in smaller, lower-cost packages than those of traditional radios.

The company’s first-generation product, the QLX300+, is believed to be the world’s smallest and most power-efficient GNSS sensor. The second-generation QLX400 will combine the GNSS sensor with an IoT radio on one chip. The GNSS sensors receive geo-positioning information, detecting signals from all major satellite systems including GPS and Galileo, to determine location and time accurately. The addition of a radio creates a low-power SoC that will extend the operating life of battery-powered products from months to years.

“Early customer engagements confirm that geo-positioning and asset tracking will be key applications for our technology, but it will be equally attractive for many other IoT products, from security devices to fitness trackers,” said Trill. “In fact, the scale of Qualinx’s market opportunity is breath taking.

Arjan Göbel, partner at Forward.One, added: “In the volatile world of deep-tech investment, we view Qualinx as an example to others of how to commercialise semiconductor innovation and we’re delighted to be alongside them on this journey.”

Qualinx (www.qualinx.io) is a high-tech fabless semiconductor company based in Delft, and develops products to solve the high power consumption problem in radio chip technology, including GNSS and IoT sensors. The company is led by Tom Trill and was founded by PhD graduates of Delft University of Technology, Massoud Tohidian (CTO), Iman Madadi (CIO) and Amir Reza Ahmadi Mehr (SVP engineering).