New investor to help Quantenna beam wireless video around the home

Quantenna Communications is making chips for home networks that allow consumers to send high-definition video from one appliance in the home to another wirelessly.
Today, it is announcing that it is adding a new investor, telco provider Swisscom, to its previously announced third round of funding. The investment shows there is still life in the wireless digital living room, even with the recession’s slowing effect on new technology adoption.
Quantenna didn’t announce the exact amount being added, but, based on information from the last round, it looks like Swisscom has invested $2 million. The company previously said it raised $14 million in its third round.
That’s a small amount of money. But it’s a decent bet that Swisscom is looking at deploying Quantenna technology in some fashion. Quantenna says it is in field trials with unnamed customers. And Swisscom’s investment manager, Pär Lange, says the company is interested in digital video services.
Telecom providers can deploy Quantenna technology as part of an effort to make their digital services more versatile and useful in the home. You could, for instance, use Quantenna to beam video from your living room TV to any room in the house.
To date, the Fremont, Calif.-based Quantenna said it has raised $44 million. Previously, Quantenna said it had raised $42 million. Other investors include Southern Cross Venture Partners, Grazia Equity, Sequoia Capital, Sigma Partners and Venrock Associates.
The company competes with SiBEAM and Amimon. Quantenna focuses on WiFi-based radio protocols — specifically, 802.11n. Amimon also focuses on 802.11n, while SiBEAM is using a different 60-gigahertz wireless technology.
Quantenna combines its WiFi technology with its own “dynamic digital beamforming” technology that gives the wireless transmissions more oomph. Quantenna has 55 employees. The company got its first round in 2006.