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del.icio.us Digg It!  new FlexLight's fall: From $28 million and 25 workers to 'a huge miss' By Guy Griml Tags: Israel The Israeli start-up FlexLight Networks, once considered one of Israel's most promising high-tech ventures, has shut its doors and laid off its 25 employees. The company developed communications solutions using gigabit passive optical networks (GPON) to address bottlenecks in voice and data transmission. The standard allows transfer of up to 2.5 gigabits per second of voice and data by bringing optic fibers closer to offices and residential buildings than is customary today. The platform FlexLight developed connects callers to regional telecom centers via a fiber optic network. Advertisement FlexLight's technology enabled fast transmission of television, telephone and router data. The company was founded in 2000 by Yossi Erol, Oren Marmur and Hezi Lapid, all from ECI Telecom. The firm raised $9 million in November 2000 in seed capital but was forced to reorganize in 2001, firing people and cutting pay. In July 2003 it raised $17 million. Altogether it scored $28 million from investors. FlexLight's market was optical tech for communications which has suffered badly in recent years, particularly after the burst of the high-tech bubble. The situation has improved in the past two years. Passave, a peer firmt, was sold in 2006. Optium acquired Photonix for $40 million, and Broadlight reverted back to the optical networks trend; its 2007 sales are expected to reach $20 million. ColorChip, a manufacturer of glass-based components for optical communications in fiber optic home systems, raised $7.5 million in financing this year. On the other hand, last year saw the closure of Imperative Networks, formerly SunChip, which developed connectors for the optic cable storage industry. Nor was Atrica's exit particularly impressive - the company was sold off to Siemens for $100 million, after an investment of at least $150 million. One FlexLight executive says the firm's closure is due to a number of effects. Firstly, their product arrived on the market too early. "The company developed the product starting in 2001, and by June 2002 we participated in the SuperComm fair with a working prototype, but there were more exhibitors than buyers at the fair. In 2003, the company launched the product, but the market was not ready. The timing was wrong." Another reason for the firm's failure, he said, is incorrect marketing operations. "The company was unsuccessful at focusing its marketing and development efforts in a sensible and efficient manner," he said. "At some point it became apparent that FlexLight would be sold or closed down. The investors were impatient, and the big players, Alcatel, Siemens and Telrad, released similar GPON products," he said. "As far as I'm concerned, this company is a huge miss." Bookmark to del.icio.us Hostile environment Arab states reject a proposed UN environment center due to inclusion of Israel. Poverty report A study shows the number of poor asking for food has doubled in the last 5 years.

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