WiQuest Communications
closedWiQuest Communications develops ultrawideband solutions for PC, consumer electronics, and mobile systems companies.
| Date | Investors | Amount | Round |
|---|---|---|---|
| investor investor | €0.0 | round | |
| investor investor investor investor | €0.0 | round | |
$28.0m | Series C | ||
| Total Funding | 000k | ||
WiQuest Communications, founded in 2003 by Dr. Matthew B. Shoemake, operated as a fabless semiconductor company headquartered in Allen, Texas, with additional operations in Bangalore, India. The company specialized in designing and developing Wireless USB (WUSB) products based on WiMedia Alliance's ultrawideband (UWB) technology for high-speed, short-range applications.
The core of WiQuest's business was the production of integrated circuits, software, and reference designs. Its business model centered on supplying these components to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) in the PC, consumer electronics, and mobile systems markets. The company's product line included chipsets like the WQST110 and WQST101, which combined a media access controller, a physical layer baseband processor, and an RF transceiver to enable wireless communication. These solutions were designed to support device discovery, multiple association options, and diagnostics through its software. WiQuest's offerings were adopted by major laptop manufacturers such as Toshiba, Dell, and Lenovo, as well as peripheral makers like D-Link, Belkin, Imation, and Kensington.
The company showed early signs of market traction, securing $18 million in a Series B funding round in March 2006, led by Sequoia Capital with participation from existing investors Menlo Ventures, Palomar Ventures, and iD Ventures America. By early 2008, WiQuest's products commanded an 85% market share in Certified Wireless USB consumer products. However, the broader adoption of UWB technology faced significant headwinds. Despite its initial success, WiQuest ceased operations on October 31, 2008, and filed for bankruptcy. The shutdown was attributed to several factors, including the economic recession, the high cost of end products, and technical issues with first-generation wireless USB products such as power consumption and throughput. Following the bankruptcy, the company's Bangalore operations were acquired by Staccato Communications.
Keywords: fabless semiconductor, Wireless USB, ultrawideband, WiMedia, chipset design, consumer electronics, PC peripherals, high-speed wireless, reference designs, semiconductor manufacturing