TeleCIS Wireless

About TeleCIS Wireless

TeleCIS Wireless, Inc. was a fabless semiconductor company founded in 2000 and based in Santa Clara, California. The company specialized in developing wireless system-on-a-chip (SoC) solutions for the broadband wireless communications market, focusing on the IEEE 802.16 WiMAX standard. Its CEO was Sam Endy.

TeleCIS developed a portfolio of chipsets aimed at fixed, portable, and mobile WiMAX applications. Its first product, the TCW 1620, was an 802.16-2004 compliant SoC for fixed indoor consumer premises equipment (CPE) and portable devices like PC Cards and PDAs. This chip was noted for its low power consumption and design that supported nomadic portability within a fixed WiMAX network. The company was also developing a next-generation multi-protocol chip, the TCW 2720, intended to combine 802.16e mobile WiMAX and 802.11 WiFi capabilities in a single ASIC for handheld devices. In 2005, TeleCIS announced a collaboration with ArrayComm to incorporate smart antenna technology into its mobile WiMAX chips.

The company successfully raised a total of $18.7 million in funding across several rounds. A significant Series C funding round in January 2006 secured $10 million, co-led by ATA Ventures and a strategic corporate investor. Other investors included Western Technology Investment, Bokwang, PMC-Sierra, SBI Investment Korea Company, and Samsung Venture Investment. In April 2007, the company's SoC engineering assets were acquired by Qualcomm for an undisclosed amount, marking an 'acqui-hire'. The acquisition was intended to bolster Qualcomm's expertise in OFDMA technology, the foundation for next-generation wireless standards.