Wednesday, October 1, 2008

Kenet bought by chipmaker Intersil

By Mass High Tech Staff

Kenet Inc. has been acquired by a California company for an undisclosed sum. Milpitas, Calif.-based Intersil Corp. reports it has bought Woburn-based Kenet, a privately held developer of low-power analog mixed-signal semiconductor products.

Kenet designs and manufactures high-speed, low-power data converters, the company said. The technology is used in portable digital oscilloscopes and software-defined radios, among other products.

Intersil, which designs and manufactures analog semiconductors, said the move gives the company access to markets it has yet to tap. Intersil’s semiconductors are used in flat panel displays, cell phones and other handhelds and notebook computers, the company said.

Intersil said it expected the purchase, which the boards of both companies approved unanimously, to close by the end of the week.

Last year, Kenet opened a 2,124 square-foot design center in Austin, Texas. The Austin center, designed to initially support up to 10 senior engineers, develops products including mixed-signal/ADC configurations, communication systems and other application-specific products in the data acquisition, medical equipment and other industries.

In June 2006, Kenet closed a $10 million second tranche of Series B venture funding. That brought the company’s total funding to $27 million since its founding in 2002. Investors in Kenet included Oak Investment Partners, Venrock Associates, Kopin Corp. and CP Group.