Wintegra lands licensing deal; more on Dell's AMD cutback.
Monday, February 11, 2008
Wintegra Inc. is touting a technology license agreement with Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd., the largest communications equipment maker in China.
"It is big enough that we got the opportunity to wave the flag a little bit about it here," said Robert O'Dell, the company's marketing head.
The company, which makes a wide variety of communications processor chips, says its main product sales are shifting away from broadband networks using phone lines and toward advanced wireless networks, including high-speed cellular and WiMax.
WiMax has been talked of as the next big thing in wireless for several years, and O'Dell said he thinks the market will finally take off next year.
Wintegra employs about 160 people, including 28 in Austin.
COMPUTER MAKERS
Could AMD benefit from Dell's plan to end some online sales?
When Dell Inc. disclosed last week that it is discontinuing online sales for many models based on Advanced Micro Devices Inc. chips, the market reacted by dropping AMD's stock price.
Dell clarified things, saying that it will continue to sell AMD-based models over the phone and through its retail partners.
Analyst Cody Acree with Stifel, Nicolaus & Co in Dallas, said the impact on AMD might not be negative.
"Over the past year and a half, AMD has struggled with margins and profitability. Not coincidentally, these challenges occurred in tandem with AMD's expanded Dell relationship," Acree said in an investor note.
"While many factors have led to AMD's current position, Dell's pricing pressure and the inability to fully supply higher-margin Dell competitors has been a significant contributor.
"Therefore, we believe a balancing of the supplier base would be a net benefit to AMD's bottom line."
CHIP DEVELOPMENT
Tehuti Networks raises $1 million for sales, products, partnerships
Tehuti Networks, an Israeli chip startup with a chief executive based in Austin, has done a lot of chip development on a little bit of investment capital.
Now it has a little more.
The 5-year-old company, which develops chips for high-speed Ethernet networking equipment, has raised another $1 million, enabling it to expand its sales efforts, support new product offerings and build strategic partnerships. That brings its total capital raised to $6 million.
The latest investment round was led by Proseed Venture Capital Fund. Ron Lachman, of Lachman Goldman, also invested.
Chief executive Arie Brish said Tehuti has about 10 equipment makers that have designed its chips into their networking gear. "It looks like 2008 will be a great year for us," Brish said.
For American chip startups, the investment required to design and market a new chip frequently totals more than $20 million.
TELECOMMUNICATIONS
AT&T's cellular network set to expand into Brenham
AT&T Inc. is expanding its advanced third generation cellular network this year to include markets like Brenham.
The telecommunications company said it is adding another 1,500 cell sits to its network around the country. 3G service, which has been available in Austin since 2005, enables high-speed data communications as well as mobile voice links.
By the end of the year, AT&T's 3G service will be available in nearly 350 markets nationwide.
ONLINE JOBS
Sanmina-SCI enlists Itzbig to help find talented workers
Austin startup Itzbig has landed a big fish in its effort to make a splash in the online jobs market.
Sanmina-SCI will use Itzbig to find talent. The company is a major contract manufacturer for computer and electronics customers, with revenues topping $10 billion in 2007.
Itzbig focuses on so-called passive job candidates — people who aren't necessarily looking for a job but who want to know about potential opportunities. It acts like a matchmaker, helping companies find top talent, with tools that rate candidates based on how well they match what the company is looking for.
About itzbig
itzbig is the first private network to allow working professionals to save time while safely exploring career opportunities. By focusing on quality and efficiency, the company’s innovative approach rescues job seekers and employers from drowning in large quantities of poorly matched data.
For more information on itzbig, call 1-888-4itzbig, or contact us.
Interested media should contact Holt Hackney or call (512) 478-8858, Ext. 115.