by Françoise von Trapp, contributing editor, Solid State Technology

May 23, 2008 - Five silicon startups were introduced to the industry at the recent (May 9) Born Global! event in Bath UK as part of Silicon Southwest's FASTtrack program, set-up a year ago to address the strategy gap early startups experience due to intensive early R&D that can inhibit interaction with potential customers and partners who are vital in shaping successful business strategies. The program reportedly provides start-ups with access to mentors with a proven track record as well as introductions to key potential customers, partners, and investors.

"Technology start-ups need to coordinate their research and development, fundraising, and international customer engagement from inception," explained Simon Bond, director of Silicon Southwest. The FASTtrack program, he said, "aims to make a difference by introducing strategic mentoring at a stage where typically companies most need it and are least able to afford it."

Graduates of the 2007 FASTtrack program included PowerOasis, which specializes in the reliable delivery of telco-strength renewable power to telecommunications base transceiver stations; Systems4Silicon, providers of IP and design services for the wireless communications industry; Silicon Basis, an early-stage Semiconductor IP company that has developed a programmable logic architecture that is said to offer improved logic density, performance and active and static power consumption over traditional FPGAs; Art of Silicon, which develops and provides data compression IP for multimedia applications; and Xintronix, which has developed technology for equalizing receivers that addresses the discrepancies between faster ICs and low-cost cables, circuit boards and connectors, as well as low cost, low power silicon.

Robert Beat, founder of Silicon Basis, told SST that his company will follow a fabless semiconductor model, designing the chip and relying on contract manufacturing services to bring products to production. He said the company is targeting consumer applications for their reconfigurable logic technology, while still studying other viable applications. The differentiator, he said, is that the technology is reconfigurable so it can be built around the application, rather than the traditional model of building the application around the technology.

One arm of Silicon SouthWest, SETsquared -- a partnership of the universities of Bath, Bristol, Southampton and Surrey -- provided mentoring services to Silicon Basis. Company founder Robert Beat noted that as part of Mentor Graphics' participation in outreach, SETsquared was able to provide Silicon Basis with Mentor's EDA tools for chip design, something he says wouldn't have been affordable without the program. The startup also benefited from marketing strategies, networking opportunities, and funding through a local grant to develop the technology. The next step, Beat said, is to raise funding for prototype development; the company is working with SMIC's multi-project wafer program and hopes to have a test chip ready nine months after funding.

Xintronix is a bit further along in the process, having already identified their technology and its application. The technology is intended to solve issues of faster data transfer using low cost cables, connectors and PCBs. Signals get coupled, and don't get received properly, explained CEO Nick Weiner. The one-year-old company is developing both equalizer and transceiver chips that will comply with the new USB 3 standards, and will also be backward-compatible to allow older cables to function properly. "Our aim is to become a significant supplier of equalizing and transceiver ICs and IP for next-generation high-speed data buses for consumer processes," he told SST. The company is developing both the IP and the chip design, so that companies have two ways to offer USB compliance.

Weiner -- who understands the process of starting up a semiconductor startup, having co-founded Phyworks, a developer of optical interface ICs ? noted that with the help of the FASTtrack program, Xintronix has developed the technology, learned the markets, and established initial customer relationships. First-round funding is expected to be in place within a few months, and the company has "ace" designers ready to join the company, he said. After that, it will take a year to achieve first silicon and have a demo product ready.

Both Weiner and Beat referred to the Bristol-Bath area as a silicon design hub of Europe, referred to locally as "Silicon Gorge" as a nod to nearby Avon Gorge. Over 1000 silicon design engineers are clustered in the UK's southwest region, reportedly stemming from the former INMOS and GEC-Plessey Semiconductor companies that spawned a local chip industry. As graduates migrated to the area for employment, other chip companies followed suit to tap into the local skill base. The infrastructure in place includes a skilled, experienced workforce, travel and communication links, business networks, and support from influential research universities. Add to this resources and funding from government bodies, and the area could become the next Silicon Valley, Beat suggested. "We've got some catching up to do," he noted, "but it's a good start."

For this year's FASTtrack program, Silicon South West is looking to recruit five technology-based start-ups located in the UK's southwest region. For more information, contact: info@siliconsouthwest.co.uk.

---

Francoise is managing editor for SST sister publication Advanced Packaging.