Wicklow’s Druid Software acquires German company Node-H

Druid Software raised $20m last year to expand into defence, shipping and utilities sectors.

Wicklow company Druid Software has acquired Node-H, a Munich-based provider of radio access network (RAN) software and user equipment technologies. Full details of the transaction were not revealed.

The deal gives Druid access to software engineers from Node-H, alongside the German company’s IP and RAN-related software expertise, expanding the Wicklow company’s engineering capacity at a time of strong demand for private 4G and 5G networks.

The acquired IP will support Druid’s ongoing development of its unified management platform, which would allow the company to simplify deployment, operation and life cycle management around private networks, it said.

The addition also enables Druid to license selected software assets to other companies operating in the open-RAN and RAN ecosystems.

Node-H’s team will support Druid’s current and near-term customer and partner commitments, as well as its ability to develop, integrate and support more advanced private network deployments. The 2008-founded German company develops network solutions, including multi-mode small cells for enterprise and public access cells.

“Bringing the Node-H team into Druid gives us additional, extremely valuable experience and software engineering talent, with deep knowledge of private cellular networks,” said Liam Kenny, the CEO of Druid Software.

“Our priority is to keep delivering for customers and partners as demand for private 4G and 5G continues to grow. This acquisition increases our capacity, strengthens our technical depth and helps us accelerate the development of a more unified, easier-to-manage private network platform.”

The Ireland-based cellular network software platform provider raised $20m last year to support expansion into defence, shipping and utilities. The round was co-led by J2 Ventures and Hico, a maritime-focused investment group.

“Node-H has built deep expertise in specialised cellular software, and we are pleased that our team and technology will now become part of Druid,” said Mike Cronin, the CEO of Node-H.

“Druid has a strong position in private networks, and we look forward to contributing to the next stage of its growth.”

Don’t miss out on the knowledge you need to succeed. Sign up for the Daily Brief, Silicon Republic’s digest of need-to-know sci-tech news.