Palo Alto, CA – March 7, 2011

Chip startups are rare these days. But Samplify Systems has managed to raise another round of $11.2 million in funding for its analog chip design business.

The company focuses on analog chips that can make the processing of real world data such as sound more efficient and thereby less costly. If Samplify’s technology catches on, it could sweep through a lot of electronics devices and make them cheaper.

Venture capitalists and entrepreneurs have stayed away from chip startups because they’ve become very capital-intensive, with a few chip companies raising more than $100 million. But Santa Clara, Calif.-based Samplify can get by with a smaller amount of money and a smaller team by focusing on one sector of the analogy chip business that requires a lot of engineering expertise but not a lot of bodies.

Investors include Integrated Device Technology, Charles River Ventures, Formative Ventures, and Schlumberger. Woodside Capital Partners acted as an advisor.