Suitera, a semiconductor startup aiming to provide tools for the design of next generation integrated circuits, has become the second company spinoff company from the American University in Cairo (AUC), going it alone with US$230,000 in funding.
Founded in 2020 by Yehea Ismail, professor of electronics and communication engineering at AUC, alongside Magdy Abadir and Eby Friedman, Suitera aims to provide tools and solutions that help handle the complexity involved in the design of next generation integrated circuits, such as 5G circuits.
The startup has raised US$230,000 in investment, which will be used to hire talent and build its products. Suitera now has one viable product being tested by global market leaders, another product in development, and more products on the way.
Ismail said he was excited about the prospects of Suitera.
“I think we have the right ingredients: a very strong expert team, a critical market need, high reputation worldwide, a wealth of relations in the field, access to relatively low cost talent, previous startup successes, AUC support, and very unique initial products and IP,” he said.
Walden Rhines, a leading figure in the Electronic Design Automation space, invested the first US$100,000 of the startup’s funding round.
“I have worked with Dr Yehea in the past, I worked with Magdy. I believe in this team, and I believe they will grow a successful business. And I am hopeful that others in Cairo and around the world will do the same, join in, and take advantage of this opportunity to invest and to work with them,” Rhines said.
AUC provost Ehab Abdel-Rahman said Suitera was a great success for AUC for two reasons.
“First, they are starting off on the right foot by having investors ready to support them as they launch. Second, they are playing a crucial role in moving ideas from the lab-bench to market, supporting AUC’s goals of converting Egypt to a knowledge-based society,” he said.
