In a new funding round, Siemens Venture Capital (www.siemensventurecapital.com) increased its stake in the Berlin software company, space2go GmbH, by an unspecified amount. The new capital is intended to support the international expansion and growth of space2go.Jonathan Brooks was appointed as non-executive Chairman at picoChip (www.picoChip.com). Brooks is currently CFO and Director of Frontier Silicon. He also is a non-executive director of e2v technologies PLC and Xyratex Ltd. Between 1995 and 2002, Brooks was Chief Financial Officer and Director of ARM Holdings plc.
ACG Identification GmbH (www.acg.de) appointed Holger Winterhalter as Product Manger of RFID Transponders. In his new position, Winterhalter will be in charge of developing the high-frequency and ultra-high-frequency RFID tag families. He also will be responsible for bringing them to market. Winterhalter was formerly employed by RS Components, where he was responsible for the automation and test and measurement component areas. In a separate announcement, ACG Identification announced its new business unit focusing on advanced ID solutions for e-Passport and e-Visa programs. ACG Secure ID will act as a competence center and solution provider, supporting the security industry in deploying government-driven programs in the field of personal identity authentication. It also plans to provide the security industry with the necessary ID components (RFID, inlays, and readers), consultancy, and support.
Airborne Entertainment (www.airborne-e.com) has purchased the rights to all games, applications, brands, and distribution contracts formerly held by the publishing division of Tira Wireless (www.tirawireless.com). Tira continues to focus on providing the mobile content market with the technology and services that are needed to overcome the challenges of device and market fragmentation.
Jennic (www.jennic.com) is repositioning its wireless connectivity business from a traditional intellectual-property (IP) approach to a fabless manufacturing business model. It will offer complete integrated circuits (ICs) directly to its customer base. This move follows the company's launch earlier this year of the industry's first complete IP portfolio for the IEEE 802.15.4 and ZigBee protocols.
Adiabatic Logic Ltd. (www.adiabaticlogic.com) appointed David Rees as a non-executive director. Rees was formerly Managing Director of Cypress Semiconductor's international design centers in the U.K., India, Ireland, and Belgium. His appointment strengthens the Adiabatic Logic team as it looks to finalize first-round funding and accelerate the development of its patented Intelligent Output Driver (IOD). The company is looking to raise £1.2m to supplement the £0.5m grant that it recently secured from the U.K. Department of Trade and Industry (DTI). The U.S. Commerce Department announced that it would make $399,500 available for the establishment of an office in Beijing for China Standards and Conformity Assessment. The CSCA office is an initiative of a four-member consortium: The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), The American Petroleum Institute (API), ASTM International, and CSA America. Consortium members have a significant knowledge base and resources for standards and conformity assessment in a broad array of industry sectors including consumer products, medical devices, and manufacturing components. Through its CSCA office in Beijing, the consortium will form relationships with peer agencies in China, monitor standards development, and promote the acceptance of members' standards and conformity-assessment systems. Once established and staffed, the CSCA Beijing office will prepare Chinese marketing materials and a web site. In addition, it will obtain market and standards information of strategic importance, network with government agencies and standards officials, and conduct training. The funds awarded to the consortium are made available through the Commerce Department's Market Development Cooperator Program (www.export.gov/mdcp.)—a public-private partnership developed to help small and medium-sized U.S. firms expand exports that support jobs.
Telenor Interactive (www.telenor-interactive.com) has been acquired by The Mobile Media Company AS (www.mobile media.com). Both companies have Telenor Venture as a major investor. The new consolidated company will be operating under the Mobile Media brand.
Willtek Communications (www.willtek.com) is expanding its market presence in the Chinese wireless testing market. Willtek is launching the TD-SCDMA System Option—a product designed specifically for the Chinese wireless market. In addition, the company opened an office in Shanghai to support business development in that region. The new Willtek office will be led by Steve Barraclough, General Manager for Willtek. Willtek also launched its web presence in Chinese at www.willtek.cn. 