Dialog invests in MIT spin-off Arctic Sand

Dialog Semiconductor has decided to invest in Arctic Sand Technologies Inc., an MIT spin-off commercialising a new approach to power conversion for multiple markets, including smartphones, tablets, ultrabooks and data centres.

The investment was part of a Series A funding round, with Dialog participating alongside other venture capital and strategic investors. The financial details were not disclosed.

DC-to-DC power converters are the underlying building block of today's power management ICs. Arctic Sand's patented TIPS (Transformative Integrated Power Solutions) technology uses a unique approach for conversion, based on switch capacitive techniques. The technology facilitates the use of smaller inductive components, resulting in increased efficiency and an overall higher power density factor over and above today's competing technologies, the company said.

Nadia Shalaby, CEO and co-founder, Arctic Sand Technologies, commented, "We are very pleased to have attracted investment and support of Dialog, which already provides power management technology to some of the world's biggest smartphone and portable device vendors. This strategic investment will help us accelerate the commercialisation of our technology."

"As part of our advanced technology development strategy, we support innovative start-up companies for emerging technologies. Arctic Sand's TIPS power management technology, together with their MIT relationship, perfectly complements our technology portfolio," added Mark Tyndall, vice president, corporate development and strategy, Dialog Semiconductor.