Jolt Capital buys and invests in Dolphin Design's carved-out mixed-signal IP activities

Grenoble (France), 5 November 2024 – Jolt Capital, a private equity firm specializing in European growth deeptech, announces today having purchased the power management and signal processing IP activities of Dolphin Design (the « IP activities »), a leader in mixed-signal semiconductor IP through Dolphin Semiconductor, a newly created company, and to commit to already invest €26M in Dolphin Semiconductor. Laurent Monge, former President at Metrologic Group, is appointed CEO of Dolphin Semiconductor.

Dolphin Design has long been at the forefront of delivering cutting-edge mixed-signal IP, known for its unrivaled energy efficiency, robustness and performance. Dolphin Design’s business encompassed both fabless design and licensing of digital and analog IPs on one hand, custom ASICs on the other. The IP activities acquired by Dolphin Semiconductor (power management and audio IP) represented about 60% of Dolphin Design’s revenue and patents portfolio.

Dolphin Semiconductor will run the IP activities under its new brand name « Dolphin Semiconductor » thus reflecting Jolt Capital’s ambition to deepen the technological expertise and broaden the IP activities’ impact in the semiconductor industry. Power management and audio IP solutions empower their customers to design ICs that are more intelligent, energy-conscious, and future-ready. With this investment, Jolt Capital intends to have Dolphin Semiconductor reinforce innovation, ensuring that the company be a trusted partner for semiconductor leaders worldwide.

Thanks to Jolt Capital’s expertise, Dolphin Semiconductor will scale its operations to meet the growing demand for advanced semiconductor IP in key markets, including Industrial, High-Performance Computing, Consumer Electronics, IoT and Automotive. The €26M committed by Jolt Capital will be invested in tranches to support the scale-up phase of the company, by reinforcing the R&D and commercial activities of Dolphin Semiconductor and allowing consolidations opportunities.

The just-formed company also welcomes Laurent Monge as its newly appointed Chief Executive Officer. The Board of Directors and the entire Dolphin Semiconductor teams express their deep gratitude to Philippe Berger for his six years of leadership, passion, and commitment. Over the past few weeks, Laurent and Philippe have been collaborating closely to ensure a smooth transition for all stakeholders.

“The appointment of Laurent Monge reflects Dolphin Semiconductor’s ambitions for continued growth and its mission to become a global leader in mixed-signal IPs. His proven leadership, combined with the support of Dolphin Semiconductor’s management team and employees, will be instrumental in driving this vision forward.” comments Philippe Berger on behalf of Dolphin Design.

“I am thrilled to join Dolphin Semiconductor, and to return to my early passion in the semiconductor industry.” says Laurent Monge, CEO at Dolphin Semiconductor. “I aim to bring a fresh perspective and strategic vision, but the IP activities core mission and values will remain the same. My immediate focus is to expand our market presence and continue to innovate in our product and support offerings. Together with the team, we are committed to strengthening customer relationships and positioning Dolphin Semiconductor as an industry leader.”

“Dolphin Semiconductor will be a key and unique independent leader in the growing mixed-signal semiconductor IP space.” declares Maxime Mallet, General Partner at Jolt Capital. “Building on the expertise of its Canadian and French teams, and on its differentiated IP, we are convinced that Dolphin Semiconductor will be ideally positioned to capture the next growth wave of the silicon IP market. Thanks to Jolt Capital’s long track record in financing innovative semiconductor companies, we will further accelerate Dolphin Semiconductor in order to make it even more the preferred partner for Power Management and Signal Processing designs.”

With Jolt Capital’s backing and their strong expertise in the field of semiconductors, Dolphin Semiconductor is poised to unlock new levels of innovation and growth, cementing its role as a driving force behind the industry's most advanced, energy-efficient systems.

About Laurent Monge

Laurent Monge has a proven track record in the semiconductor industry, with extensive experience in leading growth initiatives and managing successful customer-centric projects. Most recently, he served as President of Metrologic Group, an industrial software company. Prior to that, he spent 14 years with Teledyne e2v Semiconductors, where he held the position of Executive Vice President and General Manager, and 9 years with NXP Semiconductors in France, Austria, and the USA. His background includes steering semiconductor product lines through both organic growth and strategic acquisitions. Laurent holds an MSc in Semiconductor Design from INP Phelma, as well as an MBA from the University of Nottingham.

About Dolphin Semiconductor

Dolphin Semiconductor is a leading provider of semiconductor IP solutions, specializing in mixed signal IP design targeting markets such as Industrial, High-Performance Computing, Consumer Electronics, IoT and Automotive. Dolphin Semiconductor cutting-edge technology IPs in power management, high-quality audio, power metering, and design safety/robustness, allow their customers to accelerate design cycles, foster faster time-to-market and build products that address the challenges of any industry and support a more sustainable world. With a customer-centric approach, Dolphin Semiconductor provides exceptional support for successful project outcomes.