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mCube

mCube’s $37 Million Series C and Its “Internet of Moving Things” Vision

In 2014, mCube raised $37 million to expand its motion sensors, pitching single-chip MEMS integration as a simpler path to putting motion sensing into connected devices.

By TheFinanceBase Team 3 min read
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In June 2014, mCube announced a $37 million Series C financing to accelerate growth and expand its motion-sensor line. The company said its single-chip MEMS design could simplify manufacturing and make it easier to add motion sensing to devices. Its “Internet of Moving Things” was a vision for measuring movement across consumer, wearable, automotive, shipping, and other connected products—not evidence that all those markets had adopted mCube sensors.

What mCube announced in 2014

On June 25, 2014, mCube said it had closed a $37 million Series C round. The company said it would use the funding to accelerate growth and expand its motion-sensor product line. Existing investors named in the announcement were Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, MediaTek, iD Ventures America, and DAG Ventures. New investors were Keytone Ventures, SK Telecom (China) Ventures, and Korea Investment Partners. mCube’s financing announcement

How the single-chip MEMS approach was meant to help

Motion sensors detect changes such as acceleration or orientation. mCube described a monolithic design that brought MEMS sensor structures and electronics together on a single chip. The intended advantage was integration: fewer separate elements to fit into a product, with a compact sensor that designers could incorporate more easily.

mCube presented this approach as a way to simplify manufacturing. That is the company’s claim, not an independently established comparison: the period sources cited here do not provide comparative cost, production-yield, or process data showing that the design was cheaper or simpler than alternatives. A 2017 interview described placing MEMS motion sensors above electronic circuitry, hermetically sealing them through standard CMOS wafer processing, and using through-silicon vias to reduce space-consuming bond wires. Those details explain the described construction, but do not by themselves demonstrate superior performance. 2017 technical interview

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Design question What the integrated approach was intended to address What the cited sources establish
Component integration Combine sensor structures and electronics in a single-chip approach. mCube described this as its design; the sources do not provide a comparative component-count study.
Footprint Use a compact sensor that could fit more readily into connected products. Contemporary coverage characterized compactness as part of the proposition, but no comparative dimensions are provided. Data Center Knowledge’s 2014 coverage
Power consumption Support motion sensing in devices where low power can matter. The CEO described the sensors as low-power; the cited sources do not provide comparative power measurements. mCube’s financing announcement
Design-in effort Make it easier for product makers to incorporate motion sensing. This was part of the company’s stated proposition, not a measured design-time comparison.
Manufacturing complexity Simplify production through monolithic integration. This was mCube’s claim; no independent cost, yield, or process comparison is established.

What “Internet of Moving Things” meant

mCube used the phrase for a connected world in which motion sensors embedded in objects would measure movement and context for analysis. The examples in its announcement and contemporaneous coverage ranged from consumer devices and wearables to automotive applications, trucking, shipping, and sensor tags. These were target or illustrative use cases, not proof that mCube products were adopted across each category.

Ben Lee, then mCube’s president and CEO, said: “Virtually anything in motion can benefit from mCube’s high-performance and low-power sensors.” The remark captures the breadth of the company’s ambition; it should be read as the company’s positioning rather than an independently verified claim about performance or market adoption. mCube’s financing announcement

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The announcement also cited a prediction of more than 50 billion connected devices by 2020. That was a forecast presented in 2014, not a current market statistic or proof of the number ultimately reached.

What the period’s shipment and price figures show

In 2014 coverage, mCube’s shipments were reported as more than 60 million units, and Data Center Knowledge reported a then-current price range of 30 to 70 cents per chip. Both figures are historical: they describe claims reported at the time, not present shipment totals, prices, or purchasing terms. Data Center Knowledge’s 2014 coverage

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A named later product—and what that does not tell us

In a 2017 company announcement, mCube described the MC3451 smart accelerometer in its MC34xx family and said it was available for sampling in Q4 2017. That establishes a named product and a historical sampling statement; it does not establish current supply, specifications, or availability. mCube’s 2017 MC3451 announcement

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How to read the announcement today

The 2014 financing and product vision show what mCube sought to build: integrated MEMS motion sensors for a growing range of connected objects. The cited period sources establish the funding announcement, the company’s technical and market claims, reported historical shipment and price figures, and a later product announcement. They do not establish mCube’s present corporate status, current component availability, or independent proof that its process delivered cost or yield advantages.

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