LONDON — PicoChip Design Ltd. (Bath, England), a developer of processors and software for communications basestations, is about to close a fifth round of finance, according to CEO Guillaume d'Eyssautier.

D'Eyssautier was speaking at the European Tech Tour Semiconductor Summit held in Montreux, Switzerland, to an audience of venture capital fund managers and executives from semiconductor startups. He did not reveal the size of the investment, or whether the money is for a specific purpose.

As a late-stage startup PicoChip has considerable operating costs and predictions for the markets it seeks to address are likely to be reduced in light of recent global economic events.

Since its formation in 2000 PicoChip has raised $71 million in four rounds with venture capital companies and strategic investors including AT&T, Atlas Venture, Highland Capital Partners, Intel, Pond Venture Partners, Rothschild, Samsung, and Scottish Equity Partners.

As of July 2008 PicoChip had 155 full time employees and operations in the San Jose, Calif.; Shenzhen, and Beijing in China and Seoul, Korea; besides its Bath headquarters. PicoChip's fourth funding round of $27 million closed in June 2007, led by Highland Capital Partners and incorporating Samsung, as well as existing investors.

So far PicoChip has only operated in the digital area, offering a multicore DSP and software to provide basestation functions for a variety of wireless LAN and cellular mobile phone standards. It has partnered with RF chip companies to date.

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