February 7, 2000

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The Germinator Has A Finger In Every Pie

By Stephen Saunders

ore than 200 startups are working on optical networking products. What CIOs (and small investors) want to know is which of these newcomers is the next Cisco, Microsoft, or Netscape?

It's tough to say, given that most of these startups aren't shipping actual products. But finding out who is working at these companies, as well as what they are working on, can provide a big clue. And when it comes to optical networking startups, there's one name that comes up with startling regularity: Wu-Fu Chen. The legendary entrepreneur is starting so many companies, he's earned himself the nickname "The Germinator" in the optical networking industry.

While past performance doesn't guarantee future success, Chen's track record suggests that at least some of the companies he's working on are likely to hit it big. He was at Cascade Communications before it was sold to Ascend for $2.6 billion, and he founded three other companies that went on to sell for big bucks: Arris Networks (snapped up by Cascade for $145 million), Ardent Communications (to Cisco for $232 million), and Shasta Networks (to Nortel for $340 million).

So exactly how many optical startups is Chen working with now? "I'm chairman or on the board at nine or 10. I have trouble keeping track of them all," he says. Chen's nonchalant attitude belies a cunning strategy. He's dissected the optical networking access market and started a company in each of the resulting subareas, from components to services software, thus avoiding potential conflicts of interest and giving him a chance to score hits across the board.

Here's what eight of Chen's cabal are plotting:

• ANDA Networks: Multiservice provisioning platform with voice capabilities that reduces local carriers' investment in Class 5 switch ports.
• Astral Point: Hybrid dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM) and frame multiservice provisioning platform with proprietary Sonet-like features.
• Cinta: Wavelength router.
• Geyser: Next-generation Sonet platform with frame capabilities.
• New Tone: Application-layer service provisioning platform.
• OptiMight: Technology to double the capacity and increase range of DWDM.
• Santera: Telephone company central-office switch replacement.
• Zettacom: Chip sets designed for multiservice switches.

Return to the main story, "IT At The Speed Of Light."

Photo by Gary Parker

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