Already the startup of the generation next 4 G can be seen

Whereas UMTS should be offered to the public year and third-generation telephony takes a more concrete aspect, investments are multiplying in the mobile sector. And they are becoming more and more important: Sofinnova Partners for example would now conclude a funding of EUR 20 million in a company which manufactures sensors of fingerprints to secure mobile terminals. End of February, the British 3i conducted a round of investment of $ 26 million 20.8 million euros in Ubinetics, a Cambridge start-up specializing in test and design of microprocessors for mobile phones. 3i has also participated in February in the third round of Sonim, a us start-up specialized in the "push to talk" (the mobile phone is transformed into walkie-talkie), who lifted 28 million (EUR 22.4 million), including with Accel Partners.

Sofinnova had opened the ball of these "megadeals" last autumn, orchestrating the third round of Esmertec, closed at EUR 23.5 million. This Swiss start-up, whose technology allows phones to integrate more easily the Java language which are developed for many applications 3 G, has engaged since two acquisitions, Kada Systems in the United States and eValley to the Japan.

The race size partly explains the importance of the fundraising: "the concentration is one of the two factors that make it necessary to well equip businesses we support, says Jean Schmitt, Sofinnova Partners, because they must be able to quickly seize the opportunity to strengthen their technology."

Right to the error steps

But another factor plays: when it disseminates the public terminals by hundreds of millions in all, 520 million mobile phones were sold last year Gartner , recall and replacement costs are huge. Any innovation must therefore be tested while severe more than in the computer. "In the embedded technologies, there is no right to the error", concludes Jean Schmitt.

The mobile industry becomes more mature, as evidenced by the first entries in the stock market start-up. Cambridge Silicon Radio, who designed Bluetooth devices, was rated by late February in London. Fifteen times over-subscribed, its introduction has helped a beautiful back its venture capitalists (3i, Amadeus and Gilder) who held a quarter of the capital. "For our part, we multiplied our last five, welcomed the Director of the technology investment of 3i, Ian Lobley, and we intend to remain shareholders in reference of CSR."

In France, several start-up companies are outputs of the lot as Webraska (with including Apax as Investor) and Cityneo (Innovacom) for services lbs; InFusio (Partech) for the distribution of games; Freever (CDC Ixis Innovation) and Atchik (Innovacom) in communities; K Mobile (i-Source, Iris, 3i and Ventech) in customization; Netsize (Partech, Rothschild) in SMS services... "After three years about investment in mobile data networks (mobile data), the technology is now robust and good quality." "We must now inventing the services that will make really useful to consumers," says Ian Lobley.

Innovacom and CDC Ixis Innovation come, for example, to invest in Ipracom. Born in Massy between Polytechnique and the CEA, the company offers a data exchange service "peer to peer": potentially, a Napster mobile. "We are aware of the possible adaptations of the technology, says President of Innovacom, Denis Champenois." But it's mainly to develop immediately useful applications, in the professional sphere.

The 4 G focus online

Innovacom is thereby investing in KirUSA, who wants to develop "multimodal" terminals, oscillating between voice and data necessary. "Terminals world knows a more rapid than infrastructure development, because the integration of a phone Organizer with a GPS system and a camera is a challenge of electronic design be solved," summarizes Eric Buatois, Sofinnova Ventures in San Francisco (an independent investment company, but historically very close to Sofinnova Partners in Paris).

Already, the start-up of the generation next (4 G) can be seen. "BeamReach Networks, we support has all the technology to bring mobile networks base stations to Wi - Max standards," says Eric Buatois. What to allow fixed and mobile networks converge on the standard of Internet Protocol (IP).