Ofidium Secures A$6M Series A Funding for 100 Gigabit-per-second Telecommunications

MELBOURNE, Australia Ofidium, a pioneer in increased bandwidth and reduced costs for telecommunications networks, has secured A$6 million Series A investment from Starfish Ventures. Ofidium will use the funds to commercialize its unique optical OFDM technology, to enable 100 Gigabit-per-second transmission over existing telecommunications infrastructure.

“Telecommunications carriers face a major challenge to support continued growth in bandwidth demand throughout the network without a cost explosion. Ofidium’s optical OFDM technology solves this challenge,” said Jonathan Lacey, Ofidium’s Chief Executive Officer.

Ofidium’s unique optical Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiplexing (OFDM) technology provides highly cost-efficient capacity growth for new optical fiber, and dramatic performance improvements for existing network infrastructure. OFDM is the dominant technology in a range of other communications applications, and Ofidium is leading the application of OFDM to optical data transmission for telecommunications. Ofidium’s optical OFDM transceiver modules for dense wavelength-division multiplexing (DWDM) systems are set to become the technology of choice for 100 Gbit/s telecommunications.

Ofidium’s patented optical OFDM technology was pioneered by Professors Jean Armstrong and Arthur Lowery of Monash University. Professor Armstrong is a leading innovator in OFDM systems, and Professor Lowery, Ofidium’s founder and Chief Technology Officer, is a leading innovator in optical technology. Ofidium maintains a close relationship with Monash University via a research contract.

“Optical OFDM will have a global impact on telecommunications. Monash University is proud to be supporting Ofidium in taking this ground-breaking Monash research to market,” said Professor Edwina Cornish, Monash University’s Deputy Vice Chancellor (Research).

“We believe Ofidium’s optical OFDM technology is a major leap in technology development. Its application in optical networks will revolutionize the way the telecommunications industry increases bandwidth,” said Michael Panaccio, Investment Principal at Starfish Ventures, “and we are delighted to support Ofidium’s strong management team to commercialize this breakthrough technology.”

About Ofidium

Ofidium delivers increased bandwidth and reduced costs for telecommunications networks. Ofidium’s unique optical OFDM technology enables 100 Gigabit-per-second transmission over existing telecommunications infrastructure. This provides highly cost-efficient capacity growth for new optical fiber, and dramatic performance improvements for current networks. Ofidium’s optical OFDM is set to become the technology of choice for 100 Gbit/s telecommunications. For more information, visit www.ofidium.com

About Monash University

Established more than 50 years ago, Monash University is Australia’s largest university with 58,000 students at its six Australian campuses and its international campuses in Malaysia and South Africa. Monash delivers impact from its innovation to industry and society, through commercialization and contract research. It has spun out more than ten companies, with particular focus on life sciences, advanced materials, and telecommunications. For more information, visit www.monash.edu

About Starfish Ventures

Established in 2001, Starfish Ventures is a venture capital fund manager seeking superior returns through active investment in innovative technology companies. Starfish Ventures has $400 million in funds under management and has made investments in over 35 companies to date. Starfish Ventures seeks investments in emerging businesses across all technologies sectors, including information and communications technology, biotechnology and life sciences, industrial technology, and cleantech. For more information, visit www.starfishvc.com

Source: Ofidium