CEO, CTO, MOVANDI, IRVINE
Co-founders of wireless technology equipment maker who are looking to expand deployment of the 5G advances for indoor and outdoor use; company counts deep ties to Broadcom. Movandi specializes in 5G millimeter wave technology to enable multi-gigabit wireless speeds. The company aims to accelerate the adoption of 5G deployment while bringing costs down.
THEN: The privately held firm was founded by the Rofougaran siblings in 2016 and has nearly $70M of funding announced to date. It raised $27M in May 2020. It was the first big funding deal for an OC company during the pandemic.
NOW: In March, linked up with San Diego chipmaking giant Qualcomm (Nasdaq: QCOM) to expand deployment of the 5G advances for indoor and outdoor use.
FUTURE: Under the partnership, Movandi’s “5G smart repeater” technology will be combined with “mmWave small cells” powered by Qualcomm platforms, for expanded 5G mmWave adoption and an increased flexibility in operator deployments, the two companies said. The combination of the two companies’ technological advances “is positioned to offer mobile operators cost-effective and fast deployment of mmWave at scale and help unlock the full potential of 5G,” Movandi says.
IN THEIR WORDS: “It’s really a huge deal—it’s very advantageous for both companies,” Maryam Rofougaran told the Business Journal in March. “Qualcomm is a leader in this wireless industry,” and has a 76% share of the 5G baseband shipments, according to Counter Point Research. “Everyone needs alliances to push this market forward,” she added.
