Lloyd Thorndyke, former president of supercomputer manufacturer ETA Systems Inc, shut by Control Data last month, has been knocking on venture capitalists’ doors all over the US trying to raise funds to buy the assets of the business from CDC. Thorndyke, now a CDC senior vice-president, on leave from the company, told Reuters he needed $30m to $50m to buy key assets and for operations, adding that several venture firms had expressed interest, but that none had so far made a commitment. I need one person to step forward with part of the money and I believe the rest will come, he said. He would not start talks with his employers until he had commitments for the financing.
