Cellzome CEO, Charles Cohen
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Radioscape
Private company based in London, England
• Managing Director: Peter Florence
• What it does: Provides licensable software and development tools that manage semiconductor hardware, including digital signal processors (DSPS), which form the heart of every wireless communications device.
• Why it's hot: DSPS are notoriously difficult to program. Radioscape's Communication Virtual Machine technology makes it easier for developers to combine different communications software on a single device. Last month Radioscape raised another $2.8 million in funding, which will go to expanding into Asia.
radioscape.com
Siroyan
Private company based in Reading, England
• CEO: Kenneth Will
• What it does: Licenses high-performance digital-signal processing technology for wireless devices and set-top boxes.
• Why it's hot: Given that third-generation mobile handsets are going to need tremendous signal-processing capabilities, new high-speed architectures and Internet Protocol delivery models, such as Siroyan's OneDSP technology, are expected to be in high demand.
siroyan.com
STMicroelectronics*
Public company based in Geneva, Switzerland
• CEO: Pasquale Pistorio
• What it does: Makes custom semiconductors for the computer, telecom, consumer electronics and automotive industries.
• Why it's hot: The $6.35 billion company is now the third-largest in the semiconductor industry, and could overtake Toshiba for the No. 2 spot this year, just behind Intel.
st.com
Systemonic*
Private company based in Dresden, Germany
• CEO: Ruediger Stroh
• What it does: Produces custom-made digital signal processors for multiprotocol communication devices.
• Why it's hot: Its products can handle both the gprs and 802.11 high-speed wireless standards.
systemonic.com
Tak'Asic
Private company based in Guyancourt, France
• CEO: Jean-Paul Vernière
• What it does: Makes still-image processing-chip sets used in digital office equipment such as printers, scanners and faxes. Its next generation of products will be used in digital cameras.
• Why it's hot: High-speed image processing and compression are becoming key components of a wide range of electronic devices.
taskasic.com
TTPCom
Public company based in Cambridge, England
• Managing Director: Tony Milbourn
• What it does: Designs all the technology inside mobile devices, including gsm third-generation (3G) phones.
• Why it's hot: Analysts say TTPCom is one of the few intellectual property-rights companies that can offer the complete design of a mobile phone. Its target market includes Enhanced Data GSM Environment (edge) and Universal Mobile Telecommunications Standard (UMTS), wireless gaming and Bluetooth.
ttpcom.com
OPTICS
These companies are designing the transmission systems of the future.
Intense Photonics
Private company based in Glasgow, Scotland
• CEO: David Lockwood
• What it does: Produces photonic integrated circuits.
• Why it's hot: Its technology squeezes more functions into the chips used in optical networks, helping cut costs.
intensephotonics.com
Kamelian*
Private company based in Glasgow, Scotland
• CEO: Paul May
• What it does: Makes semiconductor optical amplifiers (SOAS).
• Why it's hot: soas should help pave the way for the cost-efficient all-optical networks of the future.
kamelian.com