5/05/00 - Holding Company Seeks To Ignite Growth Of Wireless
May. 05, 2000 (InformationWeek - CMP via COMTEX) -- The wireless market got a boost in March with the debut of Ignition Corp., a
Bellevue, Wash., holding company that's poised to invest in wireless Internet startups. Ignition, founded by eight former Microsoft and
two former McCaw Cellular senior executives, already has $140 million to spend from a team of strategic investors, including Madrona
Venture Group, Qualcomm, and Softbank Venture Capital.
Brad Silverberg heads the efforts as Ignition's chairman and CEO. He ran Microsoft's Windows business from 1990 to 1995 and then
became a key player in the software maker's Internet efforts.
Ignition's immediate goals are "to identify and invest in high-quality wireless companies and entrepreneurs," says managing director
Jonathan Roberts, who adds that the company already has reviewed more than 100 business plans. "We believe wireless data access
will become as essential and commonplace as cell-phone usage is today."
At least one analyst sees Ignition adding a valuable service to venture capital. "Ignition is moving up the value chain to choose better
companies and to assist companies as they evolve," says Herschel Shosteck, president of Herschel Shosteck Associates, a
consulting firm.
Roberts notes that the growth of Wireless Application Protocol is fueling the wireless industry. "There will simply be too many
WAP-enabled devices to ignore," he says. Roberts sees WAP gaining influence as it evolves and has to coexist with Internet standards
around the world.
Some people wonder whether there will be a streaming-media variant or whether WAP will simply adopt existing standards. Roberts
says the existing Internet and WAP standards may converge. "We don't have the answers," he says, "but we'll be diligent in asking the
questions."
iweek.com
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By: MARY RYAN GARCIA
Copyright 2000 CMP Media Inc. |
