DecaWave, the pioneering fabless semiconductor company specialising in ultra wideband (UWB) technology for Real Time Location Systems (RTLS) and Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN), has announced ex-Intel VP Jim O'Hara as Chairman of the company.

DecaWave has also announced that it has successfully raised a further funding round of 6 million euros ($8 million) from private investors in the US and Europe. This brings the total invested in DecaWave to EUR12.4m.

Jim O'Hara is a leading figure in Irish technology and business. He is former Vice President of Intel Corporation and General Manager of Intel Ireland, where he was responsible for Intel's technology and manufacturing group in Ireland. He is also a Board member of Enterprise Ireland, and is on the board of a number of Irish public companies.

"The appointment of Jim O'Hara as Chairman brings unique expertise and stature to DecaWave, and we are honoured that he has agreed to chair the company, to offer us his guidance and strategic vision at this vital time for the company", says Ciaran Connell, CEO DecaWave. "DecaWave is entering the final critical stage of our development before we reach full commercialisation for our ScenSor chip, and we believe Jim's decision to join us, along with the additional EUR6M in funding from our investors, further validates and endorses both DecaWave's vision and our technology."

DecaWave was co-founded in Dublin by company President and CTO Michael McLaughlin, a world renowned expert on wireless technologies, who was instrumental in developing the IEEE 802.15.4a standard, and CEO Ciaran Connell, formerly of Motorola and Freescale Semiconductor. The company is privately held, and employs 25 in Dublin Ireland, with offices in San Jose California, Seoul South Korea, and Toulouse France.

DecaWave has been advised on this and previous rounds of funding by Venturise (www.venturise.com).

About DecaWave

DecaWave is a fabless semiconductor company specialising in the architecture and design of integrated circuits for communications equipment markets using/requiring the advantages afforded by ultra wideband technology. DecaWave's flagship product ScenSor is a complete, single chip CMOS ultra-wideband IC based on the IEEE 802.15.4a standard, and has applications in areas as diverse as manufacturing, healthcare, lighting, security, transport, inventory & supply chain management.