Trinity Convergence nails $5.6M in third fundraiser

By siliconindia staff writer   |   Tuesday, 04 January 2005, 20:30 IST
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RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C: Trinity Convergence, Inc., a leading provider of embedded communications software for developers of voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) and video and voice over IP (V2IP) end-points today announced it has received $5.6 million in a Series C funding round. The new investment, which was co-led by Core Capital Partners, Intersouth Partners and Mid-Atlantic Venture Funds brings total funding in the company to $16.1 million. The additional financing will be used to drive the company’s sales and marketing efforts and to continue development of the award winning VeriCall Edge™ product. Trinity provides manufacturers of communications equipment with software to implement all aspects of VoIP and V2IP in a range of equipment from central office applications to consumer oriented devices. The company’s customers include original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), original device manufacturers (ODMs) and semiconductor vendors that integrate Trinity’s software into systems and chips. “As innovation moves closer to the edge of the network, systems providers are striving to produce release highly cost effective VoIP and V2IP mobile and wired end-points while meeting unparalleled time-to-market constraints,” said Salim A L Bhatia, chairman and CEO, Trinity Convergence. “The additional capital will allow us to accelerate our efforts to bring Trinity’s innovative solutions to companies around the world.” Trinity, which employs about 30 at two facilities in Morrisville and in the U.K., plans to use the money to increase the ranks of its sales force, which pitches to makers of telecom equipment. Morrisville is a sales office, while the U.K. facility performs most of the software development work. The funding also will be used for working capital. Bhatia declined to say what Trinity drums up in annual revenue and says it's too early in the company's life to expect a profit. Bhatia declined to say which equipment makers or carriers use Trinity's VeriCall software. The company has won more than 12 design contracts from equipment makers in 2004, he says. Trinity gets an upfront payment from an equipment maker when it signs a design contract and earns royalties on sales of the equipment maker's products. Trinity Convergence’s 'VeriCall Edge' provides a complete video and voice over IP software solution that allows developers to quickly introduce VoIP or V2IP functionality into wired or wireless IP phone handsets. VeriCall Edge provides OEMs with the requisite media processing, call control (SIP and H.323) and audio/video interfaces required to implement VoIP or V2IP-ready mobile and wired end-points. Unlike many solutions that require a specialised digital signal processor (DSP) working in tandem with a microcontroller in the phone electronics, Trinity has pioneered a DSP-free approach that allows developers to reduce the cost, power consumption and footprint of their design. “The traction that VeriCall Edge has garnered from Tier 1 OEMs, ODMs and silicon partners validates the benefits that exist for this DSP-free solution,” said Will Dunbar, managing director, Core Capital Partners. “Trinity has pioneered a DSP-free implementation that gives OEMs and ODMs the ability to offer highly competitive solutions, that when combined with VeriCall Edge’s comprehensive set of building blocks reduce both development time and cost for delivery of robust VoIP and V2IP end-points.” “The adoption rate of video and voice over IP services is growing faster than ever before, resulting in the need for OEMs and ODMs to more rapidly deploy VoIP and V2IP enabled end-points,” said Mitch Mumma, general partner, Intersouth Partners. “Trinity is a leading innovator in enabling OEMs and ODMs to rapidly tailor VoIP and V2IP solutions for even the most cost sensitive mobile and wired end-points.” “Trinity is positioned to be the market leader in DSP-free solutions for VoIP and V2IP enabled end-points,” added Tom Smith, partner, Mid-Atlantic Venture Funds. “We recognise the growing market opportunity that exists for Trinity and we are excited to continue to support the company as they expand to secure a leadership position in this emerging market.” Trinity makes a software that transforms the human voice into digital packets that can be transmitted over information networks. Telecom equipment makers install the software in products sold to Internet phone carriers. Internet telephone service, known as VoIP, or voice over Internet protocol, is growing in popularity nationwide because it offers cheaper calling than traditional phone service. In the Triangle, Time Warner Cable, AT&T and Vonage offer Internet phone services. With new funding, Trinity has the capital to incorporate novel features into its software such as allowing a caller to recognise whether the person being called is available or busy, just as a person using instant messaging on the Internet can do. Trinity also has an offering for carriers that are introducing video to go with the voice capabilities of phones, says Bhatia. The software also can be used in cell phones to connect over data networks. "Can this RTP (company's product) be in every home? Probably yes," says Bhatia. Equipment makers appreciate Trinity because its software eliminates the need for a processor and reduces their cost and power consumption, says Bhatia.