SuVolta, Inc., the developer of PowerShrink(TM) low-power IC technology that cuts chip power consumption by 50 to 90 percent, today announced that it has secured $17.6 million in venture funding. The company will use the funding to continue to develop low-power silicon technologies for the world's most advanced semiconductor processes. New investor Bright Capital participated in the round, joining all existing SuVolta investors including Kleiner Perkins Caufield and Byers (KPCB), August Capital, New Enterprise Associates (NEA), Northgate Capital, DAG Ventures and others.

"SuVolta's revolutionary PowerShrink transistor is a stunning and disruptive innovation, a true game-changer," said John Doerr, partner at Kleiner Perkins Caufield and Byers. "It solves the semiconductor industry's greatest challenge -- power -- without requiring billions of dollars investment in new fab facilities and chip designs. So partners and investors are racing to exploit this enormous opportunity."

"While the past five years have produced impressive innovations with the web and mobile devices, it's just as important that we continue advancing the underlying technologies that make these innovations possible," said Forest Baskett, general partner at NEA. "Unfortunately, the funding for core semiconductor technology has significantly declined over the same period. Funding a venture like SuVolta is important because we need companies striving to truly disrupt the status quo in the semiconductor industry."

The Global Semiconductor Alliance (GSA) shows supplier funding (e.g., IP, EDA/design, foundry, test, packaging) at $717.5M in 2007 compared to $272.2M in 2010, with 2011 tracking at roughly half the rate of last year as reported in the Global Semiconductor Funding, IPO and M&A Update.

The semiconductor industry recognizes the issue of power consumption must be addressed -- including Intel which introduced the Tri-Gate transistor in May 2011. SuVolta's PowerShrink(TM) low-power CMOS platform, enables semiconductor companies to cut chip power in half without sacrificing performance, losing functionality, or having to migrate to a more advanced -- and costly -- semiconductor process node.

"Power is now the biggest design constraint for electronic products. This funding demonstrates the excitement surrounding our technology which dramatically reduces power consumption in ICs," said Bruce McWilliams, president and CEO of SuVolta. "Lowering power consumption has far reaching benefits for a range of applications and products including mobile devices. SuVolta is pleased to be advancing the possibilities from continued scaling of planar, bulk CMOS technology."

At the International Electron Devices Meeting (IEDM) last month in Washington D.C., SuVolta along with its development partner and licensee, Fujitsu Semiconductor Limited, demonstrated dramatic power consumption reduction with the ultra-low-voltage operation of SRAM (static random access memory) blocks down to 0.425V.

About SuVolta, Inc.

SuVolta, Inc. develops and licenses scalable semiconductor technologies that enable a significant reduction in IC power consumption while maintaining performance. Based in Silicon Valley, the team includes world-class engineers and scientists with a long history of technology development and innovation to advance the semiconductor industry. The company is backed by leading venture capital firms Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers (KPCB), August Capital, NEA, Bright Capital, Northgate Capital and DAG Ventures. For more information visit www.suvolta.com.