The increasing adoption of connected-home devices and a $45 million venture funding round in January have prompted a hiring push at Irvine-based Greenwave Systems Inc.
The smart-technology provider, which recently developed high-speed routers for Verizon Communications Inc., plans to hire some 60 more people this year, bringing its employment count to about 300.
Jim Hunter, Greenwave’s chief scientist and technology evangelist, said more companies, particularly in the telecom and retail sectors, want a better understanding of the booming Internet of Things market, along with the benefits and pitfalls of connected devices powered by smartphones, Web browsers and tablets.
“We’re seeing more and more interest,” he said. “The growth is unprecedented.”
Greenwave’s AXON Platform of software and connectivity services has been adopted in next-generation IoT systems, routers, videos and wireless products as it further diversifies into the machine-to-machine market.
“We don’t care if it’s a set-top box or a lightbulb, we can talk to them in the same way,” Hunter said, referring to connected devices.
Technology has moved quickly to integrate more voice and interactive features favored by consumers, but scaling, security and reliability issues have curtailed widespread adoption in the emerging segment.
“It rises and falls together,” Hunter said. “There needs to be some underlying certification.”
Greenwave planned to use the proceeds from the Series C round to speed up global expansion and provide capital for strategic investments.
Its Seoul, South Korea, and Singapore operation is up to 100 employees, and its Denmark office employs about 70, the same number as in Irvine. The company also has a small team in San Jose.
Greenwave has raised $76 million in venture capital since it was established in 2008.
Ex-Broadcom Exec Lands
Nazar Zaidi, a former engineering executive at Broadcom Corp., has taken a corporate vice president position to lead developments of central processing, systems-on-a-chip and systems engineering at Sunnyvale-based Advanced Micro Devices Inc.Â
Zaidi, who held a vice president role at Broadcom, was among 700 workers cut in February after the Irvine-based chipmaker was acquired for $37 billion by Singapore-based Avago Technologies Inc.
The combined company, known as Broadcom Ltd., established its U.S. headquarters in San Jose, where Chief Executive Hock Tan spends most of his time.
The move appears to have affected Broadcom’s plans for a new campus under construction at Great Park Neighborhoods.
The Business Journal recently reported on plans to sell one or more of the four midrise buildings at the 73-acre site on the southern edge of the former El Toro Marine base.
Irvine has borne the brunt of layoffs, with the local operation at University Research Park shedding about 29% of its workforce, according to filings with the California Employment Development Department. The cuts included nearly the entire management team besides Chief Technology Officer and co-founder Henry Samueli.
Broadcom developments and employment shifts will be closely followed in this column, as the company maintains a sizeable presence here.
Acacia Board Seat Filled
Finance specialist Frank Walsh will take the board seat at Newport Beach-based patent licenser Acacia Research Corp. vacated by former Chief Executive Matthew Vella, who resigned from the top post in December.
Walsh, who hasn’t been appointed to any committees, serves as vice president of New York consultancy Jupiter Capital Management Partners LLC and is a founding partner of WR Capital Partners, a New Jersey firm that invests in small-cap companies valued between $50 million and $500 million.
Acacia, whose share price has dipped 62% to about $4 in the past 52 weeks, recently had a roughly $202 million market cap.
