BridgeCo To Invest $7.5m in Consumer Electronic Technology Development

BridgeCo announced that they will be investing $7.5 million to support the growth of the connected home audio and entertainment sector.  According to a report by Eureca Research, the market for Consumer Electronic (CE) connected home appliances and devices is set to grow by over 300% in 2010*

BridgeCo thinks the financing will boost its position in the CE market and further accelerate the company’s technology development.  It will also support its rapid growth and fund the expansion of the company’s customer base and global design partner program.  The investment was finance by Earlybird Venture Capital – an existing investor,  Christian Wenger  and Brian Long, a General Partner with private equity firm, Atlantic Bridge.

“This funding helps us meet the growing needs of our Tier 1 customers and their markets,” said BridgeCo CEO, Gene Sheridan. “With the rapid market growth, we need to deliver cost-effective connectivity and a broader range of features for a variety of home audio products from A/V receivers, iPod docking stations, kitchen radios, to mini systems and home theaters.”

BridgeCo has existing partnership with some of the industries well-known brands like Denon®, Pioneer®, Nokia®, Harman-Kardon® and Philips®.  According to Jordan Watters, BridgeCo SVP of Sales & Marketing, “Our new financing allows us to expand this program by bringing on additional partners and adding infrastructure to support customers. We will be ready for the accelerating growth in 2010 and beyond.”
 
Building on the existing market leading JukeBlox™ technology platform BridgeCo is already planning the release of  its second generation platform JukeBlox 2.0™ for next year.

*Eureca Research, March 2009, Author: Gareth Owen.