Alien's IPO: Close encounters of the scary kind
 |
Alien Technology has filed to go public, hoping to ride the wave of excitement sweeping its line of business — the little radio frequency chips that supposed to inserted into millions of products at places like mega-store Wal-Mart, making them easier to track and so on.
But our colleague Mike Langberg is skeptical of the company’s plans, in his column today. Alien is based in Morgan Hill, just south of Silicon Valley.
Alien’s IPO filing, which seeks to raise as much as $138 million, reads somewhat like “Close Encounters of the Financially Scary Kind.” Among the warning signs flashing like red lights on the console of an off-course UFO:
• Alien has never shown a profit, and losses exceed sales. The company posted a net loss of $53 million for the fiscal year ended Sept. 30 on sales of $19.8 million. Losses continued at $10.4 million on sales of $5.1 million for the quarter ended Dec. 31.
• Its newest FSA process, which is essential for the company to become profitable, won’t be ready until late this year “and may take longer.”
Next Story: Monday wrap-up: VC investments are up, Neurosky, and VoIP abounds
Previous Story: Amit Yoran's quick resignation as chief of CIA's venture arm
About the Author, Matt Marshall
Matt launched VentureBeat in September of 2006, with the realization that no one else was covering the entrepreneurial and tech innovation scene with the velocity or depth that he was. Prior to founding VentureBeat, he covered venture capital for the San Jose Mercury News from 2001 to 2006. In 2002, Matt was awarded "Journalist of the Year" by the Northern California Society of Professional Journalists. Prior to working at the Merc, he was a correspondent for the Wall Street Journal in Bonn, Germany from 1995 to 1998, and a writer for the Washington Post in 1994. Matt holds a PhD in Government and an MA in German and European Studies from Georgetown University. In addition to VentureBeat, Matt is also the Executive Producer of DEMO, the leading launchpad event for emerging technologies.
