Wireless Grids focuses on better communication

CNY Business Journal (1996+), Feb 10, 2006 by Tampone, Kevin

* Key players: Lee McKnight, CEO and president; David Shomar, chief operating officer; David Grandinetti, senior architect; Keith Costello, associate director of business development and strategy

* What does your company do? Wireless Grids Corp. is developing and marketing technology that can improve communication amongst the gaggles of electronic devices most people own. The idea is to help the devices talk to each other better and ultimately improve performance for the end user.

* How does this technology work? The company combines hardware, software, and content resources to form a wireless grid, says Lee McKnight, CEO and president of Wireless Grids. The effects of such a coherent network are numerous and depend on exactly what users want their devices to do. Some examples include the ability to share screens across Mac, Linux, and Windows operating systems or allow cellulartelephone microphones and speakers to share information with a computer sound system at a user's home. "It's about creating a social network of devices which are working together," says McKnight, also a professor at the Syracuse University School of Information Studies. "It's allowing them to work collaboraiively." These grids, which generally contain three devices or more, can include exclusively wireless devices like Blackberrys and laptops, or may contain wired technology like desktop computers.

* What are the potential applications for this technogy? Wireless-grid applications range from emergency communications to just about any business office in the world. Initially, however, the company is focusing on the home market by going through device manufacturers and service providers. Part of the reason for that focus is to show potential business customers that the grids are useful and reliable, McKnight says. "This is a new platform and there are naturally security and trust issues," he says. "We want to use the home users almost as beta testers so we can get a highly validated and refined system. Then we can go back to the enterprise customers." The company is already in discussions with major mobile-device manufacturers and wireless carriers on potential future deals.

* Why is there a need for this technology? "You could put a cell phone down next to a laptop right now, and the cell phone would have no clue it's next to a laptop," McKnight says. "That's stupid. The way all electronics [devices] are built is dumb. It doesn't make sense. We're trying to change that. We're building the software glue to enable easy sharing of resources across these different devices." Younger users often have an easier time grasping the concept of wireless grids than older ones, McKnight adds. "They understand that devices should be able to communicate," he says. "They understand you should be able to show that game from your PC, on your phone, or your TV, or anywhere. This is Where we think things should be and where ... things are going."

* What is the company's background? Wireless Grids grew out of a public-private research initiative spearheaded by the National Science Foundation. Also participating were Syracuse University, Boston University, Tufts University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Northeastern University, Hitachi, Cisco Systems, Novell, and BT Group. The initiative, funded by a $1.5 million, public-private grant, launched in 2003 with McKnight as the principal researcher. In August 2004, Wireless Grids incorporated. A year later, the company signed a licensing agreement with the universities involved. The agreement gives Wireless Grids exclusive rights to continue developing and marketing the intellectual property created-from the initial research.

* What kind of growth are you projecting? In 2005, Wireless Grids generated revenue of less than $1 million, but the company's growth potential is substantial, McKnight says. Its first client, signed in December 2005, was a European broadband provider. McKnight declines to name the client, but says the project involved creating a, concept for a home wireless grid that would include cell phones, televisions, and audio systems. In the coming years, Wireless Grids could surpass $20 million in annual revenue, McKnight says. "We don't want to do a lot of blue-sky stuff," he says. "We think we have a home run here. The upside is huge." He says the company plans some hiring this year, but he declined to comment on specific numbers. There are a total of about 20 people currently working with the company on a full-time or part-time basis and off site and on site.

* How is the company financed?

Wireless Grids is seeking initial financing of $5 million to $8 million from venture-capital firms in Boston and New York. It is also planning a convertible-debt offering of $1 million to a mix of private investors in Syracuse, Boston, New York, and Europe. Current shareholders include the company's senior management team. Wireless Grids Corporation

2-213 Center for Science & Technology

Syracuse, N.Y. 13244

Phone: (315) 443-1064