Bluesoft Closes $5.7 Million Funding Round
02 February, 2004
category: Contactless
Investments to Help Drive Sales of its AeroScout Wi-Fi Real-Time Location System (RTLS) and Wi-Fi Tags
SAN MATEO, Calif., Feb. 2 /PRNewswire/ – Bluesoft announced today that it
had secured $5.7 million in Series B funding in a round co-led by STAR
Ventures and Comverse Investments. The Intel Communications Fund also
contributed to the round as part of its Wi-Fi investment portfolio.
“Bluesoft’s AeroScout(TM) WLAN Location System is already in use at many
customer sites. The additional funds will enable us to further expand our
sales and marketing activities,” said Yuval Bar-Gil, Bluesoft’s CEO. “The
AeroScout system is able to accurately locate both standard Wi-Fi clients and
Bluesoft’s Wi-Fi Tags, which are similar to long range active RFID tags, only
Wi-Fi compatible and provide real-time location information. As such, the
AeroScout system can be a platform for location-based applications in any
Wi-Fi enabled environment and can be used to greatly enhance supply chain
efficiency in manufacturing, distribution and retail.”
“Bluesoft has a unique offering that straddles the burgeoning Wi-Fi and
RFID markets,” said Dr. Zeev Gilkis of Comverse Investments. “By adding
accurate, real-time location capability to a Wi-Fi network, the AeroScout
system enhances the ROI of Wi-Fi investments. It also allows standard Wi-Fi
mobile units (PDAs, barcode scanners, etc.) and other assets tagged with
Bluesoft’s Wi-Fi Tag to be located in real time, not just every time they
happen to pass a choke point with RFID readers. This unique combination
enables enterprises to cut costs and increase revenues.”
“We are delighted to once again invest in Bluesoft as it pursues success
in the Wi-Fi market,” said John Hull, director of Intel Capital Communication
Fund. “Location information is becoming more important as applications in
Wi-Fi-enabled environments become more complex.”
About Bluesoft
Bluesoft is the leading provider of Wi-Fi location solutions and Wi-Fi
tags. Bluesoft’s AeroScout WLAN location system enables countless indoor and
outdoor location-based applications that drive productivity in many markets,
including manufacturing, distribution and retail. Headquartered in San Mateo,
California, Bluesoft is a privately held company. For more information, please
visit http://www.bluesoft-inc.com.
About Intel Communications Fund
The $500 million Intel Communications Fund, managed by Intel Capital, was
established in September 1999 and focuses on accelerating Intel voice and data
communications and wireless networking initiatives. The fund targets companies
developing basic communications and semiconductor components and boards,
real-time operating systems, software tools and utilities, system level
hardware and software, and wireless network services and channels. The Intel
Communications Fund has made investments in 17 countries on five continents.
For more information about the fund, visit
http://www.intel.com/capital/portfolio/funds/icf.htm.