Global Silicon was a fabless semiconductor company founded in 2000 that designed, developed and marketed proprietary mixed signal chips (IC's) for the consumer electronics market. Global Silicon's chips, which initially went into production in late 2004, were used to launch the world's first MP3 and Windows Media Audio (WMA) fully compliant CD Boombox  and the company had developed a new pared down chip for low cost flash MP3 players.

FirstCapital was selected to assist the company in a series B fundraising on the basis of the company’s understanding of the sector and our ability to position the technology in a fragmented market place.  The company had a strong pipeline of design wins with OEMs in the Far East and  strong IPR for its new chip. The market it was addressing was rapidly growing, with IPods becoming ubiquitous and an emerging market for flash based MP3 players.

FirstCapital worked closely with the team to write a business plan that articulated the investment proposition for a diverse set of investors in the UK and Europe and positioning the company in the globally competitive market place. The opportunity attracted significant interest which First Capital coordinated to a timely closure, raising $10mn from Quester, Celtic House and existing investor MTI Partners.

Testimonials

"First Capital demonstrated a keen understanding of the issues and requirements, and a strong delivery capability throughout the fund raising process, providing exactly the right level of support at every stage of the process. We enjoyed working with their team and they were instrumental in successfully securing capital from a strong syndicate of investors. I would highly recommend them."
Bill Jeffrey, Global Silicon

"FirstCapital scored strongly in how they worked with the company in preparing them for fund raising, in building a coherent business plan and in developing the company pitch. I was pleased with how they controlled the process. They took ownership of a lot of issues which allowed the management to focus on running the business and contributed to a successful close."
John Polden, MTI Partners

"First Capital acted for Global Silicon when we invested in 2005. Despite being on opposite sides I was impressed with the way FirstCapital presented the company alongside the management team and how they made information available on a timely basis. They did a good job mediating between existing investors, incoming investors and the management team to make the investment process as smooth as possible. Overall from an incoming investor perspective they were helpful in the process."
Jeremy Milne, Quester Capital Management