Motorola Ventures, its strategic venture capital arm, today announced that it has made an equity investment in DesignArt Networks, an emerging and leading supplier of silicon system-on-chip (SoC) solutions for WiMAX radio access network infrastructure. Motorola Ventures led this second round for DesignArt Networks, joined by existing investors, Carmel Ventures and Magma Venture Partners. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Globally, mobile operators are recognizing the need for increased cell density to provide wireless broadband and multi-media services and meet performance needs. But in most cases deployment and operational costs are staggering. DesignArt Networks has developed an advanced and cost-effective SoC silicon platform for the WiMAX infrastructure to drastically lower deployment and operational costs of WiMAX networks. Offering one of the most compact BTS design architectures while providing integrated high-capacity in-band backhaul and advanced networking capabilities, the single-chip SoC platform is used to build a portfolio of compact, yet powerful base station and relay products, suitable for both in- and outdoor deployments.

“DesignArt’s SoC WiMAXmesh platform provides a comprehensive solution framework that successfully addresses the capital expense and backhaul issues related to high-density base stations deployments, essential for any urban wireless broadband roll-out,” said Mony Hassid, Managing Director, Motorola Ventures in Israel. “We believe this solution will have a strong impact on the evolution of the WiMAX radio access network and our investment demonstrates Motorola Ventures' commitment to support innovative companies with world class teams and ground-breaking technology.”

“We are very pleased to welcome Motorola, the world leader in wireless infrastructure, as an investor in DesignArt Networks," said Oz Barak, CEO of DesignArt Networks. "A testimony to DesignArt’s advanced technology and our innovative approach to facilitate cost-effective 4G / WiMAX service deployments, this investment will further strengthen our position as a leading SoC silicon platform provider for the 4G / WiMAX network infrastructure."