Two local companies have a little more in common than chips.
WiSpry Inc., a startup maker of chips for wireless phones, has hired the former chief executive of another chip hopeful, u-Nav Microelectronics Corp.
Both are well-funded chip designers based in Irvine.
Russell Garcia, who had a six year run as chief executive of u-Nav, now is at the helm of WiSpry. He’s set to steer the company into production after a recent design win with a major cell phone maker.
“Over nine months, the company has moved from more of a technology development phase to where we actually have demo products,” Garcia said. “We now have the anchor of a major customer and we are moving forward.”
Garcia takes the reins from WiSpry cofounder Jeffrey Hilbert, who gave up the top title to serve as vice president of development and as a director.
“The guys have done an outstanding job of developing the technology and intellectual property for doing that,” Garcia said. “Now it’s time to move into the product phase and get these to market. That’s really my strength.”
Garcia declined to discuss specifics of the company’s cell phone contract but said WiSpry’s chips will be in phones by the end of 2008.
WiSpry makes microscopic machines that are thousandths of an inch in size and puts them on chips, making a phone’s signal to cell phone towers more efficient and extending battery life.
The company contracts with Jazz Semiconductor Inc. in Newport Beach to make its chips, Garcia said.
Garcia left u-Nav in August after the company’s growth slowed, he said.
“We grew the company up to just under $10 million in revenue through 2004, and then we hit some rough spots,” he said.
Those bumps include a patent lawsuit with competitor San Jose-based SiRF Technology Inc., which made it tough to drum up more funding, Garcia said. U-Nav also had a tough time with some of its software, he said.
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WiSpry headquarters: company’s chips set to be in phones by end of 2008 |
Current u-Nav Chief Executive Greg Winner replaced Garcia after he left last year.
The two have differing visions for u-Nav, which makes a chip that runs global positioning systems in cars, handheld media players and phones.
The company’s chip enables GPS to go into any portable device and lowers the cost of making others.
Garcia was pushing to get the chips into cell phones and “smart phones,” such as the Blackberry.
Winner said he’d rather focus on aftermarket navigation systems used in cars, such as those made by TomTom NV and Mio Technology Ltd.’s DigiWalker.
“The market really has been slower to develop in adoption GPS in (network-connected) phones,” Winner said. “If you focus on navigation, there’s nearer-term money, which is really important to a startup.”
The split from u-Nav was amicable, said Garcia, who still holds a stake in the company.
“Greg has done an outstanding job holding it together on very little cash,” Garcia said. “The company has some great technology, and I still think it has potential for a great exit.”
U-Nav has seen a pickup in business as of late. It’s had 11 design wins and more than doubled its revenue in the past nine months, Winner said.
The company’s chips and software are set to be worked into modules that run navigation devices. Most of the deals are with makers in China, Taiwan and South Korea, he said.
“Those devices are getting thinner and more portable, so people are looking to eventually put them in their pockets,” Winner said.
Both companies are looking to raise more money.
WiSpry, which has raised $20 million so far, plans to launch a new funding round in the fall, Garcia said.
U-Nav has raised about $55 million and is looking to raise about $10 million more in July, Winner said.
Garcia, 47, has more than two decades of experience in building and marketing chips.
He spent 13 years at Texas Instruments Inc.’s storage group in Tustin before moving to u-Nav. Before that, he was at Plessy Electronics PLC and Hughes Aircraft Co.
Since then, he’s been sprung on startups. He’s done consulting work for several during the past year.
“There’s a lot of startup semiconductor companies that have come up with a new way to do the same thing,” Garcia said. “But WiSpry is really a new thing.”
The company has no immediate plans to go public, Garcia said.
“We are aiming for a high-growth, high-profit company that can stand on its own two legs,” he said.
