MCube

mCube is a fabless semiconductor company founded in 2009 and headquartered in San Jose, California with locations in Hsinchu, Taipei, Shanghai, and Shenzhen. mCube is the provider of the world’s smallest microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) motion sensors, which are key enablers for the new Internet of Moving Things (IoMT). Virtually anything that moves can take advantage of a motion sensor, creating a huge market opportunity for MEMS manufacturers. By 2020, analysts predict more than 50 billion devices will be connected to the Internet and a large percentage of those devices will be in motion.

For the South African surname, see Mcube.

History

mCube was founded by Charles Yang and Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers in 2009. Led by Ben Lee, President and CEO, mCube is privately held and backed by venture and strategic partner investors including DAG Ventures, iD Ventures America, Keytone Ventures, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Korea Investment Partners, MediaTek and SK Telecom (China) Ventures, receiving $37M in its latest, Series C round of funding.

Technology

mCube has developed a monolithic single-chip MEMS+ASIC product, confirmed by Yole Développement in March 2014 as the world’s smallest accelerometer. With over 180 patents filed to date, mCube integrates a MEMS sensor with ASICs onto a single die using standard CMOS processes. This approach enables sensors to be easily manufactured and designed into a broad range of applications. Single-chip MEMS+ASIC devices are cost effective, consume little power and feature high performance. These advancements make it possible to place one or more motion sensors onto nearly any object or device. In some cases, these MEMS motions sensors can be embedded directly onto a device without requiring a package, which saves considerable cost and space. mCube motions sensors have been adopted in a range a smartphone and tablet reference designs and are featured on the approved vendor lists of leading chip-set partners.

Products

mCube offers a broad portfolio of motion sensor hardware and software solutions including accelerometer, magnetometer and software-based gyroscope products that provide up to 9 degrees of freedom (DoF). mCube has shipped more than 500 million accelerometers world-wide into the smartphone and IoT markets to date. mCube’s monolithic MEMS accelerometers enjoy substantial size, cost, power and performance advantages over the multi-chip modules from competing MEMS sensor manufacturers. In November 2017, mCube completed the acquisition of the 3D motion tracking products and technology company Xsens from ON Semiconductor. The Xsens products include a suite of technologies for converting motion sensor measurements into application data, deploying unique expertise in sensor fusion and motion-tracking application development, and drawing on an array of patent-protected algorithms. Xsens motion capture solutions have been used to create CGI animations in Hollywood blockbuster movies, and by automotive manufacturers such as Daimler to enhance the ergonomic design of vehicles. Xsens products are also used in industrial applications for autonomous vehicles, professional drones, smart farming and robotics. Xsens has to retained its brand name and will continues to operate from its current base in Enschede, The Netherlands as a stand-alone business unit of mCube. mCube and Xsens are now jointly developing new system solutions aimed at existing and new customers in the consumer, industrial, medical, sports science, autonomous vehicle and entertainment industries.

Key people
  • Ben Lee, CEO
  • Sanjay Bhandari, CTO and Vice President of Engineering
  • Bernie Chong, Vice President of Finance and Administration
  • Boele de Bie, General Manager, Xsens

Markets

mCube primarily sells to original equipment manufacturers (OEMS) of electronic devices including: smartphones, tablets, wearable devices, hearing aids, health and fitness monitors, gaming consoles, smart clothes, smart watches, shipment tracking and remote controls.

References

[1] [2] [3] [4] [5]

  1. Peter Clarke (2014-07-15). "EE Times Silicon 60: Hot Startups to Watch". EE Times.
  2. David Manners (2014-07-11). "TSV moving to consumer, says Yole". Electronics Weekly.
  3. Dan Primack (July 2, 2014). "Exclusive: Kleiner Perkins raises $1.2 billion". Fortune.
  4. "mCube Raises $37m – Investment Round Up". Red Herring. 2014-06-25.
  5. Krystle Vermes. "mCube raises $37M to prepare the way for the Internet of Things". Retrieved 2014-06-25.
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