Date: Aug 27, 2015 Source: EE Times (
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LONDON -- Sand 9 Inc. (Cambridge, Mass.), a startup founded in 2007 to develop piezoelectric MEMS resonator timing circuits as an alternative to quartz crystal devices, appears to have closed its doors.
The company's website is inactive and its previously given phone number is no longer in service. Other negative indicators are that a number of executives, including its last known CEO, state on their LinkedIn pages that their time with Sand 9 ended in May 2015.
An alternative explanation is that the company has been bought as a going concern; but if that was the case it would be normal to announce the move and leave information to that effect on the website and to redirect visitors.
Calls, emails and messages to a number of people that might be familiar with the situation at Sand 9 have not been returned as yet or have failed to produce any information on what has happened to company.
Sand 9's interdigitated piezo-electric resonator (center) is the world's first MEMS timing solution for cellular phones, due to its electro-mechanical coupling that is 100 times better than traditional MEMS. (Source: Sand 9)
Sand 9's interdigitated piezo-electric resonator (center) is the world's first MEMS timing solution for cellular phones, due to its electro-mechanical coupling that is 100 times better than traditional MEMS. (Source: Sand 9)
Sand 9 was founded in 2007 as a spin out from Boston University by Professor Raj Mohanty, inventor of its MEMS technology, and Matt Crowley who served as vice president of business development.
Over its eight years existence Sand 9 is thought to have raised about $66 million in venture capital and includes several high profile backers. These reportedly include Intel Capital, Flybridge Capital Partners, General Catalyst Partners, Commonwealth Capital Partners, Khosla Ventures, Vulcan Capital and Ericsson.
Crowley left Sand 9 in January 2014 to become CEO at Vesper Technologies Inc. (Boston, Mass.), a company founded in 2009 as a spin off from the University of Michigan to commercialize a piezoelectric MEMS approach to implementing high-quality microphones for mobile devices.
In September 2013 Sand 9 was claiming to be gaining traction in the mobile phone market with its first piezo-electric timing chips, for which it said it had mobile phone customers lined up (see Sand 9 MEMS Cracks Cellphone Market). At that time Sand 9 said it had filed more than 80 patents covering its MEMS technology and the circuits, systems, and process innovations behind its piezoelectric timing chips.
If Sand 9 has closed, its intellectual property portfolio is one thing that is likely to have been sold -- or to be in the process of being sold -- to another company operating in the MEMS field.
Article originally published on EE Times Europe.
