ALIEN TECHNOLOGY  (www.alientechnology.com)

Morgan Hill, CA

Alien Technology’s patented Fluidic Self-Assembly (FSA) process is an assembly and packaging technique that is capable of handling proprietary semiconductor Nanoblocks—the world’s smallest and cheapest microchips—enabling the high-volume production of low-cost RFID tags as an electronic replacement for bar codes.  Alien’s ability to produce RFID tags at a sub-five cent price and in volumes scalable into the hundreds of billions of units needed for retail industry adoption serves as the catalyst for a revolutionary advance in logistics, inventory control, retail checkout and security that is being embraced by leading retailers and consumer goods manufacturers. 

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CHORUM TECHNOLOGIES 

Richardson, TX

Chorum was founded in 1996 by scientists expert in liquid crystal technology applied to optical networking components and display modules.  Selling its products to network equipment systems vendors, Chorum is credited with essentially creating the market for interleaver/slicer products used in multiplexing and demultiplexing optical wavelengths, with leading customers from Nortel to Marconi to Lucent relying exclusively on Chorum in certain areas.  However, with deteriorating market conditions, Chorum’s planned public stock offering was withdrawn in March 2001, and the company has reorganized and discontinued its optical networking component business.  Chorum retains its liquid crystal display business, Polytronix (www.polytronix.com).

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DFT Microsystems  (www.dftmicrosystems.com)

Philadelphia, PA/Montreal, Canada 

DFT MicroSystems has developed a proprietary radio frequency and mixed-signal IC test platform that enables high-speed signals to be measured accurately and quickly using a low cost test fixture in the place of expensive legacy test equipment that is increasingly facing fundamental physics constraints.  The solution is comprised of high-speed test circuits, software applications, custom signal processors, and specialized printed circuit boards that were developed over a ten-year period by DFT MicroSystems’ co-founder Gordon Roberts and his research team at McGill University.  McGill has licensed the basic circuit patents to DFT MicroSystems and the company has filed several additional patents on high-speed test circuits and its system architecture.

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ECLIPSE AVIATION  (www.eclipseaviation.com)

Albuquerque, NM

Eclipse Aviation is applying advanced design, manufacturing and technology innovations to dramatically reduce the production time and cost of an economical twin-engine jet airplane that is redefining the general aviation industry.  The value proposition of the Eclipse jet's high-end features and performance combined with extremely low operating costs has generated over 2,200 aircraft orders, including about 500 individual orders and several fleet orders from planned regional air-taxi services.  The efficiency of the Eclipse aircraft will allow these air-taxi services to offer business travelers on-demand, point-to-point connections between the more than 10,000 general aviation airports in the US, for a price competitive with full-fare coach on commercial airlines.

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EMBEDDED PLANET  (www.embeddedplanet.com)

Cleveland, OH

Embedded Planet offers 32-bit embedded systems design services, hardware development kits, production-ready Single Board Computers (SBCs), firmware, software, and technical support for OEMs seeking faster time to market, lower development costs and reduced project risk.  Embedded Planet’s complete solutions, technical expertise, proven designs and extensive partnerships with leading Real-Time Operating Systems providers and hardware vendors, including Motorola and IBM, make it a preferred outsourcing partner.

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FLARION TECHNOLOGIES  (www.flarion.com)

Bedminster, NJ

Flarion Technologies is a Cisco-backed, Lucent spinout that has developed and commercialized a wireless platform for mobile broadband access aimed at next-generation, wide-area, cellular communications.  Flarion’s Flash-OFDM technology supports access speeds up to 3Mbps for data and voice communications using packet-based, Internet Protocol networking.  Nextel and SK Telecom are among the multiple top-tier wireless service providers in the US, South Korea, and Europe, with Flarion field trials, strategic investments or deployment plans.

Flarion Acquired by Qualcomm in $805m Transaction 

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fSONA COMMUNICATIONS  (www.fsona.com)

Vancouver, Canada

fSONA Communications produces free-space optical communication links (transmitting laser beams through the air) that offer the lowest price-per-bit last-mile access through fiber-like speeds without the expense of laying fiber or licensing radio spectrum.  fSONA designed its equipment from the outset for carrier-class reliability, including redundant systems, maximum ruggedness and all weather operation; and for manufacturability, including low cost, high quality and scalable production.  To that end, fSONA has integrated a number of unique technologies including polished aluminum receiver lenses (for enhanced ruggedness and cost savings), cast aluminum casings (providing a maximum amount of protection from environmental elements and enabling operation between -40C to +60C), and eye-safe 1550 nm lasers (that are capable of 50x the power of competing 800 nm laser systems, improving performance in fog and increasing operating range).

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QUICKSILVER TECHNOLOGY  (www.qstech.com)

San Jose, CA

QuickSilver Technologies is a fabless semiconductor and IP licensing company that has developed and is actively commercializing enabling platforms based on its patented IC architecture technology called the Adaptive Computing Machine (ACM).  The architecture of the ACM is designed to allow programmable software algorithms to be directly mapped into reconfigurable hardware resources, resulting in a more efficient use of the hardware in terms of cost, size, speed, and power consumption.  ACM-based ICs are targeted at applications that are very computationally intensive and based on complex mathematical and logical algorithms. Such applications include 3G baseband processors, image processors, network security processors, WLAN baseband processors, satellite receivers, audio and video processors, and other algorithmically intensive applications.

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VIZTEC

Viztec’s Plastic Pixels technology enables thin, lightweight, virtually unbreakable, flexible, plastic displays to be manufactured with standard liquid crystal materials in conjunction with standard driver electronics ICs.  Viztec’s displays have optical, visual and performance characteristics superior to competing plastic technologies and rivaling industry-standard glass displays.  And Plastic Pixels displays can be produced on an automated roll-to-roll assembly process making the displays significantly cheaper to manufacturer than glass-based displays.  Viztec's technology and assets have been acquired in a trade sale.

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