Menlo Micro (Menlo Microsystems) makes the Ideal Switch, a novel switch technology the company says can make certain circuits 100 times smaller and 100 times more efficient. The device reportedly actuates with less than a milliwatt, switches in under 10 microseconds, endures billions of operations, and can handle thousands of watts of power. Menlo positions the technology for large markets including RF communications, power switching and protection devices, smart buildings, factories, EVs and grid upgrades. The company says initial growth was around wireless, and it expects further penetration into smart power management and control. Menlo and its backers claim the switch could materially lower cost, improve reliability, and reduce energy use across billions of installed power-distribution switches. Menlo Micro developed the Ideal Switch™, which combines electromechanical and solid-state switching to reduce size, weight, power and cost for a range of industries. The technology targets medical, aerospace and defense, telecommunications, consumer electronics, industrial IoT, and test and measurement. Menlo says these reductions improve radio performance for defense and commercial networks, enhance RF/microwave switching for 5G, satellite and Wi‑Fi, and benefit consumer mobile performance and battery life. The company has sampled products from a new production line to over 30 lead customers in core target markets including 5G mobile networks, aerospace and defense, and test and measurement. The recent funding is intended to accelerate expansion into new markets over the next few years by leveraging the Ideal Switch's ability to handle kilowatts of power. Target expansion areas named by the company include industrial IoT, home automation, electric vehicles, medical instrumentation and quantum computing. Menlo Micro, headquartered in Irvine, California, is a GE Ventures spinout commercializing a Digital-Micro-Switch (DMS) platform that recreates the electronic switch with micromechanical design. The company’s DMS aims to combine the size, speed, cost and reliability of solid-state devices with electromechanical power handling up to kilowatts. Menlo’s technology is positioned for multiple end markets including 5G mobile networks, industrial IoT, battery management, home automation, electric vehicles and medical instrumentation. GE invested more than 12 years of R&D into the DMS technology, producing over 60 patent families and GE-qualified DMS products, and Menlo reports tens of thousands of units already shipped in the field. Leadership includes CEO Russ Garcia and co-founders Chris Keimel and Chris Giovanniello; Jeff Baloun heads manufacturing operations. The company is focused on scaling product development, expanding market reach, and enabling system designers to integrate the DMS across diverse applications.

Total raised

$213M

Funding rounds

3

Latest round

Series C

Latest activity

Mar 2022