Cambridge Silicon Radio (CSR) will use a $10 million cash injection to "break the mould" on the single-chip short-range radio market. The spin off from Cambridge Consultants plans to take on the market via the financial backing by venture capitalists 3I, Amadeus Capital partners and Gilde IT Fund. CSR will be a "fabless silicon supplier", designing and engineering integrated circuits. Manufacture and testing will be subcontracted to Europe and Asia, according to a company statement. CSR designs single-chip short-range radios that allow wireless communication between products such as mobile phones, PDAs and PCs. It will be the first company to offer a fully integrated 2.4 GHz radio, baseband and microcontroller package on one CMOS chip. James Collier, co-founder and technical director of CSR, said: "CSR intends to break the mould of wireless system design". He claimed the process would cut the cost of ownership of quality digital radio by three. "The ability to connect numerous devices without wires can be applied to a whole host of applications, from cordless headsets for mobile phones to more innovative applications in the domestic environment, such as wireless light switches," said Collier. He described the interest in emerging standards such as Bluetooth as "proof of the potential for short-range radio". "Bluetooth is much lower in cost than alternative wireless standards and will often also allow a lower cost replacement for cables and connectors, especially when installation and maintenance is taken into account," added Collier. Cambridge Consultants is part of US consulting firm Arthur D. Little. Arthur D. Little brokered the deal between Korean firms LG Semi and Hyundai... ® You can email Linda Harrison