Wireless Innovations from Greece

Electronic News, Jan 8, 2001 by Marie Eve Demers

Helic promises pioneering technology by the end of the year

YORGOS KOUTSOYANNOPOULOS IS CHAIR-man and chief executive officer of Helic S.A, a company he helped found in 1999, and he predicts it will become a pioneer in the RF and mixed analog-digital IC markets both in Athens, Greece, where it has its headquarters, and abroad.

Koutsoyannopoulos, who is in charge of strategy and business development for the company, identified a few elements that, in his view, will drive the company to success. Among them, he mentioned that Helic succeeded in attracting renowned scientists who have many years of experience in research and expertise in passive components, transistors and silicon development. This array of talent enables the company to handle all the critical phases of product development, from design to production, the executive said. The CEO said that retaining talent is as difficult a task in Greece as it can be in California's Silicon Valley. Today, the company employs 17 people and hopes to expand to 40 employees by the end of the year.

After long studies during which he collected a Ph.D. in electrical engineering from the National Technical University of Athens and an MBA from the Athens University of Economics and Business, Koutsoyannopoulos worked for three years in the R&D department of the Institute of Communication and Computer Systems in Greece. After building his expertise in silicon-integrated passive component design, he and six friends and colleagues founded Helic.

Though the company has not yet released any products, its technology is full of promise, according to its CEO. "We are getting ready to get products out by the end of the year or early in 2002," Koutsoyannopoulos said. The executive would not release information on the company's projects, but emphasized his belief that the company will play a pioneering role in its field.

Recently, Helic entered an agreement with ComSilica Inc., Berkeley, Calif., to jointly develop broadband wireless technology based on the IEEE 802.11a standard. In the wireless/LAN area, Koutsoyannopoulos identified a few companies whose technology competes with Helic's. The competitors include Radiata Communications, which has been acquired by Cisco Systems Inc., San Jose, Resonext Communications Inc., formerly NeoSilicon; and Atheros Communications Inc., Sunnyvale, Calif.

However, in the area of wide-band CDMA (WCDMA), a standard that has been selected for 3G mobile telephone systems in Europe, Japan and the United States, there is space for innovation. "It is a niche market," Koutsoyannopoulos said. "There is not much competition there so it is an area that we can pioneer."

The company raised capital at the time of its founding and has since gained revenue from intellectual property licensing. Koutsoyannopoulos said that he is considering the possibility of a second round of funding during the year in order to help the company grow.