SEMICONDUCTORS/ EDA/ HARDWARE

ARISTOS LOGIC: Aristos Logic was born in early 2000 as a spin-off from harddisk drive manufacturer, Western Digital. The network storage device company has developed the industry's first fully integrated I/O controller device. It integrates expertise in software and firmware development, systems design, disk drive and RAID technologies; and hopes that this unique blend of expertise will enable it to beat competition. “Data is being created at an exponential rate and this has magnified the need for effective ways to store and manage this data. Networked storage provides this capability and Aristos Logic is developing technologies that will dramatically enhance the performance and manageability of networked storage,” explains Anil Gupta, CEO and President.

CORRENT: Corrent Corporation, an Arizona-based fabless semiconductor company providing high-speed Internet security for IP networks, was recently energized after securing $16 million in Series C funding in mid-February. Corrent offers standard silicon and board offerings as well as design services for custom OEM development. “As the first to sample system-on-a-chip security processors at gigabit and above speeds, we help networking and server equipment designers to provide an advanced architecture that is designed specifically for security on the Internet,” says Richard Takahashi, CEO and President of Corrent.

SILICON LABS: The Austin, Texas-based Silicon Laboratories has exhibited remarkable resilience in the midst of the recent economic downturn. While other chip companies are barely managing to survive, Silicon Labs continues to turn impressive profits while its stock price hovers in the admirable range of $20 to $30 a share. The key to success, according to Navdeep Sooch, co-founder and CEO of Silicon Labs, is being dynamic. “The company was founded in 1996, and our chips were targeted to analog modems, since that was the hot industry at the time. Now, half our revenues are derived from wireless products, while the rest comes from wireline products,” Sooch explains. Sooch admits that “it's not the best of times, but it's also not the worst of times. The semi industry has seen better days, but Silicon Labs has still been able to grow pretty steadily for the past one and a half years.” Although only about one percent of Silicon Labs' revenues currently derive from optical communications, Sooch believes that optical communications will be hot in the future. Sooch remains confident that the value of Silicon Labs' product will enable it to stay ahead of the competition. “Four factors are key here: cost, power consumption, space, and performance. Our products are substantially superior to those of our competitors with respect to all four of these factors,” Sooch proclaims.

SOFTWARE/ INTERNET

marketRx: Selling a pharmaceutical product is a bit more complicated than, say, selling a car—which is why so-called "marketing informatics" companies have recently stepped into the picture. Bridgewater, New Jersey-based marketRx, Inc. is one such company, a provider of Web-based platforms and applications that enable pharmaceutical companies to offer interactive marketing and customer service to physicians. For a company that was founded just over two years ago, marketRx has managed to take on board a number of impressive clients, including Johnson & Johnson, Novartis, Merck, and Bristol-Meyers Squibb. Jassi Chadha, marketRx's co-founder and current CEO, attributes the company's success to its unique value-added services. “What differentiates us from the competition is that we combine marketing research with actual marketing. We don't just supply pharmaceutical companies with data, but we help them to analyze the data and produce results,” explains Chadha.

INFORMATICA: Gaurav Dhillon, co-founder and CEO of Informatica (NASDAQ: INFA), has helped to take the company from a privately funded US operation to a multinational, publicly traded corporation in a matter of a few years. Silicon Valley-based Informatica, founded in 1993, provides business analytics software that helps companies monitor and manage the performance of key business operations. Even in these tough times, Dhillon proudly notes that Informatica has maintained an impressive list of clients, including Chevron, Cisco, and Polo Ralph Lauren. "Informatica continues to execute in a difficult environment, keeping costs under control and closing good business despite current economic conditions," says Dhillon.