Abrizio
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Semiconductor |
| Founded | 1997 |
| Founder | Nick McKeown |
| Fate | Acquired by PMC-Sierra |
| Successor | PMC-Sierra |
Key people | Nick McKeown (CTO), Anders Swahn (CEO), Zubair Hussein (VP Engineering) |
| Products | TT1 switching fabric chipset |
Abrizio was a semiconductor firm operating without its own fabrication facilities, focusing on the development of switching fabric chip sets—integrated circuits designed specifically for computer network switches. Their TT1 chipset functioned as the fundamental switch fabric in high-end communication systems produced by several prominent system manufacturers.
Founding
Established in 1997 by Professor Nick McKeown as a spin-off from Stanford University's Tiny-tera initiative, Abrizio raised $6 million in capital from investors including Benchmark Capital and Sequoia Capital.
Product and technology
The TT1 ("Tiny Tera") chipset provided switching capabilities at terabit-per-second speeds, utilizing CMOS technology. Abrizio introduced an enhanced Input-Buffered Output Queued Switch Fabric architecture that offered superior memory efficiency compared to similar technologies, resulting in cost savings. A notable advancement was their complex Wavefront arbiter, which facilitated swift and intricate arbitration processes essential for high-performance switching.
Senior leadership
In 1998, Anders Swahn, previously the Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Allied-Telesyn Inc., was appointed CEO of Abrizio. Founder Nick McKeown took on the role of Chief Technology Officer while on leave from Stanford University, with Zubair Hussein serving as Vice President of Engineering.
Acquisition
On August 24, 1999, Abrizio was acquired by PMC-Sierra through an exchange of 4,352,000 PMC-Sierra shares, valued at roughly $400 million. Post-acquisition, the former Abrizio engineering team finalized the TTx switch chipset. Nevertheless, following the collapse of the telecom market bubble, PMC-Sierra significantly downsized the ex-Abrizio personnel in 2001.