The FIFO chips are memory buffer chips which are currently sold by a number of companies. Apparently there is a fairly large market for these chips in telecom equipment applications. There are a wide variety of speeds and other performance levels for these chips, with some companies selling lesser performing chips as almost a commodity. At the top-end, there are I believe two major competitors who are selling chips at the 120-150 MHz speed levels. The two companies are Cypress Semi and IDT. Check out their Websites for details on their FIFOs. As I understand it, JMAR Semi is attempting to enter this market with their chip which is faster than the current ones being sold. But these companies have already announced faster ones to be introduced by year end. If I understand correctly, there isn't much new about JMAR's version, but that they think they can get a faster chip out first and also act as a second source for many of the customers. I also understand that JMAR Semi's strategy is not just to come out with one set of FIFO chips, but to introduce a family of FIFOs, followed by a series of other telecom-related chips, with the ultimate goal of providing a large number of telcom equipment related chips, many of which can be integrated together to develop a network processor type of chip.
That's ambitious to be sure, but with the money from JMAR's recent Warrant exercises and with what appears to be a competent group of chip designers at JAMR Semi, it could be doable. JMAR Semi has designed and sold ASIC chips in the past, but mainly custom jobs. What is important in my mind about the FIFO chip is it would be JMAR Semi's first entry into the telecom-related chip market and could establish their name out there as a player in that field.
Remember, JMAR is essentially three different companies, with its three divisions (two of them established by acquisition of existing companies). At least for the near term I am not going to brush JMAR Semi with the same brush of failed expectations as is the case with the JMAR Research division's x-ray lithography development that has taken 8 or 10 years to get to market. |
