Once-rich startup Zucotto closes doors
Vito Pilieci
The Ottawa Citizen
Tuesday, March 11, 2003
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Zucotto Wireless Inc. has issued layoff notices to its entire staff and locked the doors, according to a company co-founder.
The decision to close the Ottawa company, which created chips for wireless devices, was made by Zucotto's board of directors on Friday, said co-founder John Criswick.
The board decided that, rather than seeking more financing to fund operations, it would be better to wind down operations now and prevent further dilution of the company's current base of outstanding shares.
Mr. Criswick said it appears that the company will try to revive operations in some form in California, led by some of the current top executives. A small Ottawa presence could survive.
The Ottawa company brought on David Grooms of San Diego as chief executive in May 2002.
Numerous calls to Zucotto's chief financial officer, Warren Weiner, went unanswered yesterday. Mr. Grooms was also unavailable for comment.
A visit to the company's downtown offices yesterday revealed that all the lights were turned off, the doors were locked, and no one was working.
At its peak, Zucotto had 145 employees working in offices in Ottawa, San Diego, Copenhagen, Denmark and Seoul, South Korea.
The company was founded in October 1999 to design microchips for wireless devices, such as personal digital assistants and cellular phones. The chips allow wireless devices to receive Java-based applications, which help people to interact with animated Web pages.
The company attracted more than $54 million in venture capital in November 2000. The deals made Zucotto one of Ottawa's richest startups.
But with a slump in spending from the cellular phone industry, there was trouble selling the company's products.
Zucotto was forced to slash its workforce by 40 per cent, or 39 people, in December 2001.
Vito Pilieci
The Ottawa Citizen
Tuesday, March 11, 2003
ADVERTISEMENT
Zucotto Wireless Inc. has issued layoff notices to its entire staff and locked the doors, according to a company co-founder.
The decision to close the Ottawa company, which created chips for wireless devices, was made by Zucotto's board of directors on Friday, said co-founder John Criswick.
The board decided that, rather than seeking more financing to fund operations, it would be better to wind down operations now and prevent further dilution of the company's current base of outstanding shares.
Mr. Criswick said it appears that the company will try to revive operations in some form in California, led by some of the current top executives. A small Ottawa presence could survive.
The Ottawa company brought on David Grooms of San Diego as chief executive in May 2002.
Numerous calls to Zucotto's chief financial officer, Warren Weiner, went unanswered yesterday. Mr. Grooms was also unavailable for comment.
A visit to the company's downtown offices yesterday revealed that all the lights were turned off, the doors were locked, and no one was working.
At its peak, Zucotto had 145 employees working in offices in Ottawa, San Diego, Copenhagen, Denmark and Seoul, South Korea.
The company was founded in October 1999 to design microchips for wireless devices, such as personal digital assistants and cellular phones. The chips allow wireless devices to receive Java-based applications, which help people to interact with animated Web pages.
The company attracted more than $54 million in venture capital in November 2000. The deals made Zucotto one of Ottawa's richest startups.
But with a slump in spending from the cellular phone industry, there was trouble selling the company's products.
Zucotto was forced to slash its workforce by 40 per cent, or 39 people, in December 2001.
