Pitango Venture Capital and Poalim Ventures, part of the Poalim Capital Markets Group, invested 10 million Dollars in Techtium, developer of “BackuPower™”; an innovative technology that provides instant, simple and accessible solutions for powering up battery-operated portable devices such as cellular phones, MP3/4 players, video/stills cameras and notebook computers. With Techtium’s BackuPower™ technology, portable device users are now able to use ordinary, standard sized, readily-available AA or AAA batteries in order to instantly charge up their devices and gain a few more hours of usage time. In today’s mobile era, BackuPower™ affords users with the peace of mind they need that their devices will be powered up and ready to go at any given moment.

Techtium, established in 1995 and managed by Guy Weinstein (CEO) and Dror Manor (VP R&D), is a semiconductor company that specializes in developing analog chips (ICs) for hybrid power management of combined energy sources. Techtium’s technology is based on a mixed-signal integrated circuit with unique charging and battery type detection algorithms that use standard sized AA or AAA batteries to create a hybrid battery together with the device’s main battery. In the future, Techtium intends to also utilize alternative energy sources as hybrid supplements such as fuel cells, solar energy and so on. Techtium’s core technology is the basis for both external BackuPower™ products as well as embedded BackuPower™ applications; all of which enhance the reliability and overall value of portable devices in the eyes of consumers.

Energizer, a world leader in portable power products, selected Techtium’s integrated circuits for its Energizer Energi To Go™ external, battery-powered instant mobile phone chargers. Techtium and Energizer have previously signed an agreement to jointly pursue the development and marketing of hybrid battery solutions.

Philips, a world leader in consumer electronics has also chosen to use the BackuPower™ technology and announced, three months ago, the development of the first mobile phone in the world to enable instant charging by using a standard AAA battery in a hybrid system with the device's regular battery. This pioneering phone is the result of combined development efforts by Philips, Energizer and Techtium.

Guy Weinstein, Techtium’s founder and CEO, “Today’s “on the go” world and the enormous dependency on mobile devices led us to seek solutions that address the energy gap between desired usage and limited power availability. We developed a line of mixed signal ICs and applications that address such energy gap by redefining the way in which standard batteries are conventionally used. With our BackuPower™ technology, standard sized batteries can now be used together with the device’s main battery to create solutions that provide instant, simple and accessible backup power.”

Isaac Hillel, Managing Partner at Pitango said, "Techtium is a company that combines unique products with successful management. The company has achieved impressive collaborations with strategic entities in the market and we believe that this investment round will assist the company in realizing its development and marketing programs so as to enable it to continue being a leading player in its market".

Eran Gersht, Managing Partner at Poalim Ventures adds, "The technology developed by Techtium is an important breakthrough in the field of mobile phones and mobile devices. The possibility of gaining additional usage and standby time, by using accessible and readily-available batteries provides significant added value to devices that are based on Techtium’s technology. Battery life is a key consideration in the decision to purchase mobile devices such as cellular phones, MP3 players etc., and Techtium introduces a unique solution to an enormous consumer market which is growing by the day".