BPI France et al. back EBlink with €2.8m

EBlink co-founders Christian Bittar and Alain Rolland also invested as part of the funding round.

BPI France invested via FSN PME, a state-owned fund that invests in the technology sector, namely cloud computing and cyber security. The €400m fund typically invests €1-10m and was launched in 2011.

The capital injection will be used to roll out EBlink's wireless fronthaul product, FrontLink, internationally. The company will focus on building partnerships with industry players in specific markets, namely in the US due to EBlink forming a Silicon Valley-based subsidiary earlier this year to tap into the US market.

The fresh funding brings the total amount raised by EBlink since its inception to €22.8m, according to unquote" data.

Previous funding
EBlink first received funding in February 2006, securing €2m from I-Source Gestion, which provided €1.5m, and Alven Capital, which footed the balance via its Alven Capital II fund.

The company's second round of funding took place in October 2008. Alven and I-Source Gestion were joined by 360, the latter leading the round, contributing €3.5m to the total amount of €5m.

In December 2010, the three previous investors took part in a third round led by new backer Masseran Gestion, which subsequently merged with Seventure in June 2012. The four parties provided EBlink with €6m in capital.

The company then secured a further €7m in funding in March last year. Alven, 360, I-Source Gestion, Seventure (then Masseran) and new investor CDC Enterprises (now part of BPI France) backed the company. CDC invested via the FSN PME fund, which is now managed by BPI France.

Company
Founded in 2005 and headquartered in Boussy-Saint-Antoine near Paris, EBlink develops and manufactures hardware for the telecommunications industry. Its FrontLink product range is designed to connect base stations to multiple sectors and to support multiple frequency bands.

EBlink claims its wireless fronthaul solutions lower costs for operators by eliminating the need for the last few hundred metres of fibre.

The company's FrontLink range is designed to enable faster and simpler deployment of 3G, 4G and future 5G networks by replacing cables with low-output aerials in base stations.

People
Alain Rolland is the chairman and CEO of EBlink. He founded the company alongside COO Christian Bittar. David Manjarres, partner and head of the ICT department at Seventure, sits on EBlink's board of directors alongside 360 partner François Tison. Xavier Deleplace is an investment director for BPI France's FSN PME vehicle. Nicolas Landrin is a partner at I-Source Gestion.

Advisers
Equity - Chammas et Marcheteau (Legal).
Company - Cabinet Cleach (Legal).

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• Seventure (SPEF)
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