Lightwave Microsystems Reincarnated?
When, in late September, the startup officially closed its doors, and put its fabrication facility up for sale on Dovebid, things looked pretty final (see Obituary: Lightwave Microsystems). But apparently not.
According to a reliable source close to the company, Lightwave Microsystems is about to be reborn. "The facility was not sold and has not been broken up," wrote a source in an email to Light Reading. "The team did not disband. Other than a new name and some new investors, Lightwave will continue to sell products and to lead this sector of the market (such as it is)."
Startup NeoPhotonics Corp. -- which, like Lightwave Microsystems, is developing Arrayed Waveguide Gratings (AWGs) and related components -- was rumored to have been negotiating to buy the assets of the defunct company (see Has Lightwave Micro Found a Buyer?). One source suggested the price was as low as $2 million, although exactly what NeoPhotonics was getting for its money wasn't mentioned -- the deal could have been for the fabrication facility only. NeoPhotonics declined to shed any light -- it continues not to return calls.
Last week, NeoPhotonics spun out its non-telecom-related business, which may signal a change in strategy resulting from being the reincarnation vehicle for Lightwave Microsystems (see NeoPhotonics Spins Out Medical Biz).
Drew Lanza, a founder of Lightwave Microsystems, couldn't comment on any possible deals. But he set the tone in a post to Light Reading's message boards: "We always get asked if Lightwave could have gone on a diet. Wrong analogy. Better to ask if the saber toothed tiger that was Lightwave could have transformed itself into a mouse. Not possible. Maybe through reincarnation…" (For the rest of Lanza's illuminating post, see Happy Thanksgiving!)
— Pauline Rigby, Senior Editor, Light Reading
You've all made good and legitimate criticisms of the company. And certainly, to Lichtverbindung, who claims to be a former employee who was laid off, I apologize. The employees of Lightwave did everything that was asked of them and more and they're a great group. I truly wish that things had turned out differently.
But, I'll say it again. We had a vision of the future that we put together over the 14 years that we were in business. This vision turned out to be correct, but our timing relative to it turned out to be wrong. We did help to invent the planar lightwave circuit and we shipped the highest quality PLC's out there. Again, just ask Cisco, Nortel, or Lucent.
Was that sufficient to build a business? Well, in my lengthy experience in this industry over the past 20 years, it usually is. But these are extraordinary times. Nobody foresaw this huge crash we've had. And, as I've expressed before, when push came to shove, Lightwave chose to continue to deliver its products to its customers who needed them, rather than go into hibernation, screw its customers over, and wait until this storm passed.
I think everybody here has missed the point. It really doesn't matter what we would have done. The employees would still be laid off. When you don't have any revenue, you can't pay salaries. The VC's work was already done. We had built the plant, built the world's best product, and penetrated the world's best customers. At that point, it's a juggling act to match revenue to costs and try to achieve profitability.
In the end, there was (and is) no revenue to be had out there. It's true all across our industry. Should we have seen that coming? How could we? Those of us in the industry for 20 years believed the fiberization of the world was about to commence in earnest (it still will in the coming years, and that's the timing that we got wrong). The analysts didn't see it coming. The consultants didn't see it coming. Heck, the customers didn't see it coming.
Look, I'm a big boy and I know that the buck stops with me. The Captain goes down with his ship. That's why I'm taking the time to post on these message boards - because the employees of Lightwave deserve better than some of the vicious jabs they've gotten here. They built a great company with products second to none.
But I also know the difference between being asleep at the wheel causing me to founder on the rocks and getting caught in a sudden gale that blows up and sinks you.
So, mea culpa to the fine employees of Lightwave, many of whom have become personal friends over the past decade. But, honestly, if I had it all to do over again, I'm not sure I'd do it any differently.
Drew Lanza
Founder