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Esat founder and Internet entrepreneur Denis O'Brien is to invest USD3 million in new mobile computing venture Duolog Technologies.
The investment from O'Brien, who received an estimated IEP150 million from the sale of Esat Telecom to British Telecom in January, will go towards marketing and research in the wireless Internet handset sector, which is predicted by Dataquest to grow to over 800 million phones and PDA units worldwide by 2003.
The seed capital investment in Duolog, which employs 12 in Dublin's Sandyford Industrial Estate, is to be made using Island Capital as a conduit alongside private clients of Davy Stockbrokers. The new venture is to be led by former Silicon and Software Systems (S3) managing director Ray Bulger and former Partners In Europe creator Mark O'Donovan.
"The investment will be spent on expansion and growing the company to appropriate levels as well as on recruitment, infrastructure and development of intellectual property," said Bulger, who is now chief executive officer of Duolog. "We are hoping to create patentable solutions using virtual pieces of silicon and software."
Duolog, which hopes to achieve first year earnings of USD2 million, initiated investment negotiations with O'Brien before the Esat sale to BT and has been recruiting internationally since November 1999. The company has secured senior experienced executives from the USA, India and continental Europe, where both Duolog founders were active in the last decade.
When asked by ElectricNews.Net whether the company was concerned that the mobile software market was becoming cluttered, Bulger commented: "People will ask what will you do with all the additional bandwidth which will be created with the arrival of UMTS or 3G mobile phone networks. Telcos will have to provide extra services and above all else offer value to customers. Duolog hopes to offer telco's this additional value."
Duolog, whose competitors in the silicon design sector include Parthus and German firm Sican, intends initially offering mobile service solutions and products from 2001.
"Because of the driving force of speed to market and scarcity of engineering resource, the major global players are increasingly outsourcing their design services," commented Bulger. "This is generating major opportunities for independent design companies and IP (Intellectual Property) providers."
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