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home » featured company
Airbee Wireless, Inc.
Airbee Wireless Since its founding in 2002, Airbee Wireless has become a leading provider of intelligent embedded chip software designed for low power RF mesh networks. Airbee's software stacks and application are the brains for some of the largest semiconductor company's silicon chips. All low power RF mesh networks need three things to work - First; is a low power radio, second is the microcontroller and third, Airbee's proprietary software to make it all work. This is very similar to your home computer, Dell makes the hardware but Microsoft provides the software that makes it work. Airbee's software is licensed to the leading semiconductor companies such as Texas Instruments, ZMD, Infineon, Atmel, Jennic etc.
Airbee Wireless Inc. (ABEW)
Jul 10 9:34 AM EDT
Today 5d 1m 3m 1y 5y 10y
Last Price 0.17
Tick
Change
Open N/A
Day High N/A
Bid 0.17
Ask 0.18
52Wk High 0.46
E.P.S. -0.06
Ex-Div Date N/A
Yield N/A
Market Cap 14.11 m
Last Trade 7/9/07
Volume 0
% Change 0.00%
Prev Close 0.17
Day Low N/A
Bid Size 5000
Ask Size 5000
52Wk Low 0.12
P/E Ratio N/A
Dividend N/A
Shares 83.02 m
Exchange OBB
Documentation
* Airbee Wireless, Inc. - Executive Summary - June 2007
* Leveraging a Comprehensive Software Approach For Implementing Low-Power Wireless Mesh Networks
* Understanding The Role Of Software In Low-Power RF Mesh Networks
To accomplish our goals we have created a center of excellence in Chennai, India where we have as of January 31, 2007, 47 full-time employees, of which 5 are executive or administrative and 42 are technical (all based in India). This engineering center has developed into an industry leading RF Mesh R&D and product center. Their core competency is software code development for the use and application of microprocessors in low power RF mesh networks. We have assembled the largest team in our industry with software RF Mesh knowledge and expertise. This expertise is extremely hard to acquire and difficult to attain a mass of experienced engineers.
The team established the technological feasibility for Airbee's initial product line (the Airbee UltFirstraLite™) in November 2002 with the completion of the product design (V1.0). The working models for the Airbee UltraLite™ proprietary 900 Mhz and the UltraLite™ 2.4 GHz were delivered on March 2003 and April 2003, respectively. Airbee's standard ZigBee software was released at the end of October 2005. Airbee is leading in the continued migration of the ZigBee standard and achieved ZigBee 2006 certification for the Airbee ZNS 2006 protocol stack in Jan 2007. Airbee's ZNS 2006 is one of the first platforms to implement the latest version of the ZigBee standard and to pass independent testing by a ZigBee qualified testing lab creating the first agnostic application in use today.
Airbee software is based on the ZigBee 2006 specification and allows OEMs to offer new technical feature capabilities including controls and energy management devices such as sensors, remote controls, thermostats and lighting control. The software stack supports multiple silicon platforms such as Texas Instruments latest microcontroller the MSP430-4618, Atmel AVR family of microcontrollers, Freescale's MC1319X, MC1320X and MC1321X platforms and others. Airbee's ZNS 2006 software is currently commercially available to OEM customers. The next ZigBee specification is the ZigBee Pro standard in which Airbee has been selected as a golden unit platform for the Pro stack.
Executive Summary
Airbee's success in getting in place commercial relationships with three of the world's largest silicon companies, (Atmel, TI and Infineon), allows Airbee's software to now be accessible to thousands of developers throughout the world. We anticipate as these low power RF mesh systems (ZigBee) are commercially deployed by these Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) significant usage of our products and services will occur. As for our technical expertise, it has recently been validated by our selection as a "Golden Unit" for the next generation of ZigBee - ZigBee PRO. This exclusive group includes TI, Ember, Freescale and Airbee. We are now the benchmark for ZigBee software, which is and will continue to help us to develop commercial relationships with the major silicon companies and OEMs - this all leads to revenue for Airbee.
Airbee is the last freestanding software company in the ZigBee market and has already achieved certification to the 2004 and 2006 ZigBee standards.
The ZigBee Alliance currently consists of more than 200 companies including Airbee Wireless, Honeywell, Cellnet, Eaton, Itron, Phillips, Schneider Electric, Siemens, Comverge, Control4, DCSI, Golden Power, Johnson Controls, Legrand, Nivis, Nuri Telecom, Sensus Metering, Silver Spring Networks, Site Controls, ember, ATMEL, Texas Instruments, Talon Communications, Trilliant Networks, Tritech Technology and many others (see www.ZigBee.org for a complete list).
Airbee Differentiation and Competitive advantages
Software is the key to low power RF Mesh network deployments. Industrial applications in the RF environments tend to be very dirty and need software (brains of the silicon) to be very robust. Airbee's reliability program is called the "3Rs". The 3R program, is Robustness (resists a failure), Resilience (recovers despite a hard or soft failure), and true Reliability (continuous operation) is an industry-leading competency. Airbee's ZNS 2006 protocol stack now incorporates enhancements for the 3R's. Airbee has the engineering skills and resource depth to pioneer new solutions for Low Power RF Mesh Networks and has achieved an industry leading position with respect to certified products and the necessary reliabilities to make Airbee products, the product of choice for our customer deployments and ease-of-use.
Airbee is employing a license/royalty revenue model and to date we have executed eight (8) license agreements with companies such Texas Instruments, Infineon, ZMD, Radiocrafts and others. We are currently in the process of licensing additional large silicon companies.
Airbee is at the industry's forefront and as such leads the continued migration of the ZigBee standard (www.zigbee.org). In January 2007, Airbee achieved ZigBee 2006 certification for it ZNS 2006 protocol stack. The ZNS 2006 is one of the first platforms to implement the latest version of the ZigBee standard and to pass independent testing by a ZigBee qualified testing labs.
Financials
Size of Market:
TAM
To identify the TAM of the three focused markets, we looked at the market size for 8 & 16 bit microcontrollers (MCUs). The potential connectivity applications (see Table below) for ZigBee-optimized MCUs include consumer electronics, PC peripherals, home automation, toys and games, personal health care, and of course, industrial and commercial. In total, the ZigBee market for these three-targeted markets in terms of unit volume could reach 1.38 billion by 2008. This would make ZigBee-based MCUs far more ubiquitously or pervasively "connected" than their 32 and 64 bit big brothers.
The MCU competitors include Atmel, Microchip, Mitsubishi, Motorola, NEC, Oki, Philips, Renessas, Siemens (Infineon), ST Microelectronics, and Texas Instruments.
SAM
Thus the TAM based on our logical approach of tracking the forecast of 8 & 16 bit MCUs, would offer us the baseline. To build upon this baseline one would next have to assume the adoption rates for ZigBee within the respective target markets.
So for the Airbee target markets we discussed, we are looking, conservatively, at 63 million ZigBee devices deployed in 2007 and growing to 158.5 million in 2008.
Airbee compliance with ZigBee standard
ZigBee was created out of a need for a wireless technology that networked sensors and controlled devices given that other standards - such as Bluetooth and WLAN - have proven to be unsuitable for low power applications. Consequently, the ZigBee Alliance was created to develop a new networking technology (under the IEEE 802.15.4 standard) that would be interoperable between multiple vendors. In December 2004, ZigBee standards were approved and the technology is now an official global standard. The ZigBee Alliance currently consists of more than 200 companies throughout the world including Airbee Wireless.
ZigBee technology is essentially a two-way communication network standard that transmits at low-power (between 20-250 kbps) utilizing the spread spectrum in the 868Mhz / 900Mhz / 2.4GHz frequencies. ZigBee architecture defines the networking, security and application profiles of a chip. One of the primary drivers behind the development of ZigBee was the need for longer battery life to power wireless devices. As a result, ZigBee's low latency wireless implementation results in products that require very little power. Additionally, interference concerns are minimized by ZigBee's low spectrum utilization given that wireless usage in the market segments that benefit from ZigBee are characterized by short and low-data rate signals.
Airbee's and ZigBee's advantages are clear: its architecture is inexpensive and self-contained, and its power requirement is low. According to WEST Technology Research Solutions, LLC, "It promises to revolutionize low-end RF intercommunication for devices that are capable of regulating a network of up to 255 nodes..."
Competition
There are currently no pure-play ZigBee software companies that compete directly with Airbee. Figure 8 Wireless was a competitor until it was acquired by Chipcon, a Norwegian semiconductor company that designs and produces standard radio frequency integrated circuits for use in wireless applications. However, there are tangential competitors - primarily hardware focused - offering software solutions that are either proprietary or licensed from companies such as Airbee. It should be noted that TI purchased Chipcon in December of 2005 for approximately $200 million. The purchase price, represented a 6.4x 2005E multiple of Chipcon's 2004 revenues and - according to industry analysts - also reflected confirmation of ZigBee as a technology and its prospects.
Revenue Generation
Since our key products ar protocol stacks the key to our revenue stream is to get on the primary silicon vendors chip (Atmel, TI, Infineon, etc), the ecosystem revolves around the silicon. Our revenue chain is not only the royalties on the stack but actually more importantly is the license and royalty fees that will come from the applications and the fees for design services. The stack is just our way to enter the game with the silicon companies.
We have been successful at three of the major silicon companies, TI, ZMD and Infineon. We will be announcing shortly a license agreement with the largest microcontroller company - Atmel. We have been mentioned by TI, ZMD and Infineon and we are listed by TI as a partner on their website and TI has us in their ZigBee Application note (which is available on their web site).
The key to our revenue is not with the stack but with applications, network mgt products (ZNMS) and design services. By having the stack on the key silicon company's products we get led to the OEM opportunities and we have the door opened for us for services, applications and ultimately NMPs. It is critical that we maintain our core competency in the stack and are perceived as the leader in the PRO but it is also critical that we develop a library of applications such as SPPIO (which we charge 1.00/unit royalty for).
We will be improving upon our current marketing strategy and will be focusing on specific vertical market segments for our products with the first being location based mesh applications and the outpatient medical market. We have focused all of our money on developing and maintaining an engineering team, a real commercially viable product and have spent zero money on sales and marketing. When our funding does materialize it is our intent that we focus on sales and marketing with funding. We have not lost any market share as the Low Power Mesh market is still maturing but the time is now to aggressive market and sell our products and I look forward to have the money and resources to go make that happen.
Management Overview
Raj Sundaresan - CEO and Director
Mr. Sundaresan was previously founder and CEO of Intelligent Systems, Inc., a company that was primarily involved in customizing software. Raj has over 22 years experience in information technology related businesses and as an independent consultant to both private and government organizations as well as several Fortune 500 companies. He received an MS in Management Information Systems from American University, an MBA from Johns Hopkins University and an MS in Mathematics from Madras University, India.
E. Eugene Sharer - President, Director
Mr. Sharer was previously President and/or Chief Operating Officer of several information technology companies (including Complete Wellness Centers, Inc., ROW Sciences and Calculon Corporation). He also held executive positions with IBM, Computer Sciences and Iverson Technologies as well as a board seat with the Technology Council of Maryland. Mr. Sharer received a BS in Electrical Engineering from Penn State University.
Charles Gunderson - Chief Operating Officier
Mr. Gunderson brings more than 25 years of management experience to his role as Chief Operating Officer of Airbee. During his career, he has held the titles of vice president, general manager, and other senior management positions at several leading high-tech firms, including Tektronix, Calcomp, Epson America, Trimble Navigation, and DriveCam. He holds a bachelor's degree in engineering from Oregon State University, and an MBA from The Wharton School. He has authored or co-authored many technical and business process patent applications throughout his career.
Veeravanallur Sundaram - CEO of Airbee Wireless (India) Pvt. Ltd
Mr. Sundaram was previously Managing Director and CEO of Covansys Corporation's Offshore Operations. Prior to his tenure at Covansys Corp., Mr. Sundaram worked for British Petroleum for 20 years in a variety of positions covering systems, transportation, chemicals, pipeline operations, operations analysis, strategic planning and M&A. He received a BS in Physics and Mathematics and an MS in Computer Science from the University of Pittsburgh, and an MBA from Case Western University.
Ram Satagopan - Chief Technology Officer
Mr. Satagopan previously served as CEO of Connexus Technologies (Singapore) Pte. Ltd. which was acquired by Airbee in 2002. Prior to joining Airbee, Ram worked for over 17 years with companies selling telecom software products, most recently serving as a Technology Director of Motorola Electronics - Singapore. He led product teams to roll-out wireless products for Motorola worldwide and also played a key role in the deployment of ISCLAP (an Indian standard code for paging) paging protocol standard for the Indian market. Ram holds more than 10 patents in wireless communications, embedded designs and consumer electronics. He received a BS in Electrical Engineering from Annamalai University in India and an MS in Management Technology from the Graduate School of Business at the National University of Singapore.
David L. McCartney - Vice President, Marketing and Sales
Mr. McCartney has many years experience in the wireless technology space in both corporate executive and marketing positions. Prior to joining Airbee Wireless, he was the founder - and principal consultant - of m2direct, Inc and also served in senior marketing positions at Wavecom, Inc. and Bosch Telecom. Mr. McCartney also worked as an Executive Vice President of RangeStar Wireless, Inc. and as Director in various units of Ericsson, Inc. including the International Business Development group. Mr. McCartney was also a Divisional Marketing Director for Motorola, Inc. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Administration from Iowa State University and an MBA from Lynchburg College.
Mal Gurian - Director
Mr. Gurian is currently CEO of Mal Gurian Associates and has served as CEO of several leading communication companies. Most recently, he was the co-founder and Chairman of Authentix Network. He has served as a corporate and strategic advisor to major corporations including OKI, Sony, TRW and the communications division of Murata. He is President Emeritus of the Radio Club of America and the recipient of the club's Sarnoff Citation, the Special Service Award and the Fred Link Mobile Award. Mr. Gurian is also the recipient of the National Association of Business and Educational radio's (now the PCIA) highest honor, the Chairman's Award.
Conclusion: Airbee Differentiation
Software is the key to real world low power RF Mesh network deployments. In industrial applications the RF environments tend to be very dirty and the need for the software (brains of the silicon) to be very robust has lead Airbee to a reliability program called the 3Rs. Focused on real world deployments it's 3R program, which is Robustness (resists a failure), Resilience (recovers despite a hard or soft failure), and true Reliability (continuous operation) are an industry-leading competency. Airbee's ZNS 2006 protocol stack now incorporates enhancements for the 3R's. So the real reason for Airbee lies in two critical reasons - first is that we have the engineering skills and resource depth to pioneer these new solutions for Low Power RF Mesh Networks, but also we have achieved an industry leading position with respect to certified products and the corporation of the necessary reliability to make Airbee's products the product of choice by our customers for real world deployments and ease-of-use
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