The unhappy picture at failing MicroUnity Systems Engineering Inc, the John Moussouris company trying to revolutionize semiconductor design, is becoming clearer: it has, as reported (CI No 2,967), put its wafer fab up for sale, and has laid off 100 or more of its 259 employees and the $120m of venture capital – raised from the likes of Hewlett-Packard Co, Tele-communications Inc and Time Warner Inc as well as the more traditional sources, has almost run out. Acknowledging the company’s need for more cash, Moussouris told the Wall Street Journal he is preparing to spin off or sell the cable modem product group so the company can concentrate on its revised core business of defining its new general-purpose computer architecture and software to create a computer that is also good at communications.
