Montalvo Systems is reportedly cutting two thirds of its staff, VentureBeat has learned. The Santa Clara, Calif., chip design company is one of the most ambitious startups in Silicon Valley, but it is running out of time raising money to rescue its business.
VentureBeat reported earlier that Montalvo was attempting to raise more than $100 million in funding but had been unsuccessful. The company has already raised $73 million from the likes of NEA-IndoUS Ventures and Bay Partners. CNET’s News.com independently confirmed that layoffs may be taking place.
But the company has run into delays finishing its chip, which is a low-power Intel-compatible processor with an innovative design. The chip has asymmetric cores. That means it has big and small processors on a single power-efficient chip. That saves power because the smaller, power-saving cores can handle small tasks while the larger cores handle big tasks.
They are the most ambitious startup challenging Intel. But there is a long list of failures in this area, including Transmeta, which is next door to Montalvo. Through the years, only Advanced Micro Devices has managed to compete with Intel, which can afford to spend billions of dollars on chip factories and processor design.
Attempts to reach Montalvo CEO Matt Perry were unsuccessful. Peter Glaskowsky, vice president of design, declined to comment. It’s not clear how many jobs are being cut. At one point, Montalvo had grown to nearly 300 people, with engineers in Santa Clara and India.
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9:58 am
Sun Microsystems could use Montalvo as a strategic lever against Intel » VentureBeat said:
[...] this week, Montalvo cut two-thirds of its staff (our coverage). The company had tried to raise a round in the past weeks but failed (our [...]
10:53 pm
60 GHz Chipmaker Phiar Fizzles & Shuts Down - GigaOM said:
[...] risks associated with putting money into a chip firms and opt to take a pass. Just a few weeks ago, Montalvo Systems laid off two-thirds of its staff after failing to raise additional rounds. Semiconductor investments in new companies have fallen in [...]
12:37 pm
Post mortem: The inside story behind the collapse of chip startup Montalvo Systems » VentureBeat said:
[...] lunch at the local hamburger joint. When they came back in the afternoon, they were out of work. Montalvo laid off two thirds of its employees. A few weeks later, the company closed its doors for good and Sun bought the assets. For Peter [...]