Optillion Brings North American Office to Hacienda

By George Walsh, Hacienda Network Staff Writer

Swedish Fiber-Optic Transceiver Company Places Staff in Pleasanton

Swedish high technology company Optillion, which produces products that enable the transmission of data over fiber-optic systems, recently moved its North American headquarters into Hacienda.

Fiber optic systems are considered by many to be the next generation of data transmission, complementing or replacing systems like DSL or cable-based internet and television access. Optillion develops, manufactures and sells fiber-optic devices for networking equipment suppliers in the enterprise, metropolitan area, cable television, and other markets that need to move large amounts of data quickly. Optillion's investors include ITACT, Crescendo Ventures, Cisco Systems and Investor AB via Investor Growth Capital, its venture capital company. In its recent Series C financing round, the company raised $15 million, bringing the total venture financing raised by Optillion to $70 million during the past two years.

Optillion was founded in December,1999 and has approximately 100 employees (including 28 PhDs) worldwide. The company says its team exhibits world-class competence within high-speed electronic design, optical components, low-cost packaging and automated manufacturing.

"Our products are high speed optical transceivers . We're a sub-module manufacturer in the telecommunications and enterprise markets," says Geoffrey Brown, vice president of business development and sales for Optillion. In layman's terms, Optillion's products help speed the Internet along.

Optillion's new offices at 4690 Chabot Drive, Suite 110 will serve as the hub of the company's U.S. based marketing, sales, application engineering and administrative support. Optillion's products are used as components in computer networking devices such as switches and routers.

"The reason our North American office is here in the Bay Area is that many of our customers are either here or have facilities here," Brown says. "It's important for multinational companies like Optillion to be represented in all geographies."

Optillion's main facility is in Stockholm, Sweden. The office space leased in Hacienda is the headquarters for Optillion Inc., which is a California corporation, but the company also has representatives and distributors in other parts of the world.

"We have global coverage for our customer base," Brown says. "The reason we chose the Bay Area is that it is obviously a hotbed for our industry. The reason we chose Pleasanton is that it's convenient for the personnel who are members of the company. It's got ready access to airports, our customers, and our suppliers. It's a good central location for us."Optillion plans to expand in the U.S. as its market demands. "We probably won't put in another hard site right now, but we will add remote people," Brown says. "We will be present where our customers are present." Optillion plans to add more remotely located employees who will be headquartered out of its new office in Hacienda in the future.

Photo: Engineer Alex Zaslavsky, left, and vice president Geoff Brown show off Optillion's transceivers in their new Chabot Drive offices.

Also in this issue...