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
I have never failed to praise the pioneering role of NEL and others in the development of PLC technology. In a post dated 10/11/02, I wrote:
"We did invent some [PLC technology] over the 14 years we were in business, but the bulk of the (commercial) credit has to go to NEL and Lucent."
(see http://www.lightreading.com/bo... )
You are absolutely correct that NEL, Hitachi, and PIRI (which was NEL's technology) were the leaders in developing and shipping PLC AWG's for years before Lightwave started shipping. Please read my posts carefully. I have been scrupulous in pointing out that what Lightwave pioneered were INTEGRATED planar circuits. We founded the company 14 years ago to build integrated planar circuits and today, we build the highest performance integrated planar circuits.
For gosh sakes, Benson, when we started the friggin' company 14 years ago people were already thinking about and experimenting with planar circuits and had been for some time. There is nothing new under the sun, you know? But the design wins we got with Cisco, Lucent and Nortel clearly show that Lightwave Microsystems succeeded in what it set out to do 14 years ago - to build the best integrated PLC's that we could. Sure we had a lot of bumps along the way. When we began, we were convinced that polymers were the key to making low loss waveguides. And there are lots of other blind alleys that we went down.
As for Lightreading allowing me to post to continue my "promotion" of Lightwave, hey, give me a break. As I have stated in many of these posts I am here to defend the founders, employees, and investors of the company who deserve a lot better than what they get in these posts. If people can attack companies in these posts, then why can't I defend one? Besides, the fate of the company is already sealed. I get no benefit (other than psychic) from defending the company.
For instance, your statement about NEL, Hitachi, and PIRI being the pioneers only tells part of the story as I pointed out above. It confuses the role of PLC technology to build single-function integrated devices (i.e. AWG's) with multi-function integrated circuits (e.g. AWG+switch+VOA = ROADM). NEL, Hitachi, and Lucent deserve an enormous amount of credit in this field and I would never take away from their accomplishments. Read my previous posts.
Finally, Cisco, Lucent, Nortel and other companies DO rely on the circuits manufactured by Lightwave Microsystems which is why we couldn't and didn't let the company die. Lightwave Microsystems is still in production supporting these customers. There were discussions to have these companies 'bail' us out. But such was not meant to be. Nortel sold its optical business to Bookham. Agere went to Triquint. Cisco is not in the components business, but they were steadfast supporters and seriously tried to help the company with a number of potential acquirers.
Sorry if I've been a little bit testy on this post. If you know me, then you know that I am not just some schmuck floating around through this market. I have been in optical telecom for over 15 years. And I am justifiably proud of what we accomplished at Lightwave Microsystems, which got its start in my mother's garage in 1988. I will continue to defend the good people and good works of Lightwave Microsystems as long as I can.
Happy Holidays to you and your family. If you're ever in the Bay Area, Benson, look me up. I'll buy you a beer and we can continue the debate in a more convivial atmosphere.
Drew Lanza
Founder