Big congratulations to Mo Faisal, Jeff Fredenburg, and the team at Movellus for closing a $23 million Series B funding round. Mo and Jeff are both Ph.D. graduates of the U-M College of Engineering, which is where they developed the core technology and business concepts for Movellus. The company has developed and patented novel timing generation technology for next generation complex integrated circuits. Their technology provides a potential competitive advantage for semiconductor industry companies. I invested in Movellus’ initial seed round and each subsequent round, so I’m happy and proud about the company’s achievements to date.
A Fortuitous Introduction
Doug Neal, former Executive Director of the U-M Center for Entrepreneurship, introduced me to the Movellus founders several years ago. At the time, Doug was managing partner at eLab Ventures. eLab is a private equity firm formed by Doug and a few colleagues. (Full disclosure – I’m an eLab Limited Partner). Meeting Mo and Jeff and learning about their company’s technology reminded me of one of my earliest projects at AT&T Bell Laboratories. At that time (the late 1970s!) I was developing a wide-ranging, very accurate signal generator for testing telecommunications connections. After flailing around for several weeks, I hit upon a digital approach to solving the problem that was quite novel. Fast forwarding 40 years, I saw the Movellus technology as an infinitely more sophisticated version of the technology I had applied at Bell Labs. My earlier experience helped me see the potential for Movellus technology. I decided to invest.
I’m definitely rooting for Movellus to succeed, and not only because I’m an investor. If the Movellus team achieves its goals, their success will be a “win” for the founders, the U-M College of Engineering, and the Michigan entrepreneurship ecosystem. Congratulations, Movellus. GO BLUE!