"another one bytes the dust"...

According to Processor Watch - July 22, 2010
(sorry, I have no URL, it was sent to me by email)

================================================
Tears for Tier Logic
By Tom R. Halfhill, Senior Editor, MPR (7/19/2010)

FPGA startup Tier Logic looks doomed after failing to raise
  enough money to move its first chips into production.
  A last-ditch attempt to save the privately held company
  fell through last week, said Paul Hollingworth,
  vice president for marketing and sales.

Tier Logic, founded in Silicon Valley in March 2002,
  has spent about $20 million from its first-round investors
  and needs another $20 million to $30 million to bring its
  chips to market and reach breakeven, he said. Matrix Partners,
  the sole remaining investor, extended a bridge loan to keep
  Tier Logic alive for eight months during the search for
  additional funding, but that money is nearly gone, and
  the quest was unsuccessful. Another first-round investor,
  Walden International, pulled out last year.

Hollingworth said the situation is frustrating, because Tier
  Logic has operational samples of its first programmable-logic
  chips and has already taken orders from early customers. The
  company had planned to begin production by the end of this quarter.
================================================

Now, $20 to develop silicon over almost 8 years, that sounds
quite reasonable. So what did go wrong ? And what will happen now ?

I think that now, the worse that could happen is that X & A buy
all the patent portfolio and reinfoce their dominance in the market...

yg
-- 
http://ygdes.com / http://yasep.org

On Sat, 24 Jul 2010 11:20:22 +0200, whygee
wrote:

> "another one bytes the dust"...
> 
> According to Processor Watch - July 22, 2010 (sorry, I have no URL, it
> was sent to me by email)
> 
> ================================================ Tears for Tier Logic
> By Tom R. Halfhill, Senior Editor, MPR (7/19/2010)
> 
> FPGA startup Tier Logic looks doomed after failing to raise
>   enough money to move its first chips into production. A last-ditch
>   attempt to save the privately held company fell through last week,
>   said Paul Hollingworth, vice president for marketing and sales.
> 
> Tier Logic, founded in Silicon Valley in March 2002,
>   has spent about $20 million from its first-round investors and needs
>   another $20 million to $30 million to bring its chips to market and
>   reach breakeven, he said. Matrix Partners, the sole remaining
>   investor, extended a bridge loan to keep Tier Logic alive for eight
>   months during the search for additional funding, but that money is
>   nearly gone, and the quest was unsuccessful. Another first-round
>   investor, Walden International, pulled out last year.
> 
> Hollingworth said the situation is frustrating, because Tier
>   Logic has operational samples of its first programmable-logic chips
>   and has already taken orders from early customers. The company had
>   planned to begin production by the end of this quarter.
> ================================================
> 
> Now, $20 to develop silicon over almost 8 years, that sounds quite
> reasonable. So what did go wrong ? And what will happen now ?
> 
> I think that now, the worse that could happen is that X & A buy all the
> patent portfolio and reinfoce their dominance in the market...
> 
> yg

There is a much bigger problem, there is no VC money anymore especially 
for hardware and chip companies and there is no IPO market which is why 
there is no VC money.