corporate overview

Gennum Corporation (TSX: GND) designs innovative semiconductor solutions and intellectual property (IP) cores for the world's most advanced consumer connectivity, video broadcast and data communications products. Leveraging the company's proven optical, analog and mixed-signal products and IP, Gennum enables multimedia and data communications products to send and receive information without compromising the signal integrity.

A recognized award-winner for advances in high definition (HD) broadcasting, Gennum is headquartered in Burlington, Canada, and has global design, research and development and sales offices in Canada, Germany, India, Japan, Mexico, Taiwan, the United States and the United Kingdom.

Gennum Fast Facts

• Dr. Franz Fink, President and CEO
• Headquartered in Burlington, Ontario Canada
• Founded in 1973
• 2009 revenue of $85 M (USD)
• Listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX:GND)
• Employs approximately 400 people worldwide

2010

• Gennum expands the industry’s broadest 3Gb/s portfolio with 3G/HD/SD equalizers
• Gennum announces the industry’s most integrated solution for telecom and datacom optical module applications

2009

• Gennum expands its signal integrity offerings to address next generation high speed applications, delivering 27 new products
• Gennum delivers the industry's first single-chip 10G EPON transceiver
• Gennum delivers the world's first complete IC solution for 16G Fibre Channel SFP+
• Gennum delivers the industry's highest performance SFP+ solutions
• Gennum's Snowbush IP Group delivers the industry's first PCI Express 3.0 PHY IP on TSMC 40nm process
• Gennum's Snowbush IP Group delivers the industry's first available USB 3.0 integrated PHY and controller IP

2008

• Gennum expands its signal integrity offerings to adjacent protocols and markets, delivering 25 new products
• Gennum enables long reach Infiniband QDR, 40GbE and 100GbE applications with the industry's first quad 10Gb/s CDR
• Gennum delivers the industry's first single-chip HD and 3Gb/s transmit and receive solutions
• Gennum delivers the industry’s first receiver on a chip-based ROSA product for 10 Gigabit fiber optic applications
• Over 2 million 10G TIAs, and over 2 million 2.5G TIAs shipped to date
• Gennum Acquires ASIC Architect, Inc.

2007

• Gennum Divested the VXP Group
• Gennum Acquired Snowbush Microelectronics, developer of some of the most complex analog and mixed-signal circuits in the market today
• Divested Audio and Wireless Division
• Divested Manufacturing Operations
• Shipped over one million CDRs
•  Launched nX6000 Bluetooth headset
• Demonstrated first commercial solution to drive 4Kx2K display

2006

• Dr. Franz Fink joined Gennum as the new President and CEO
• Awarded a technical Emmy® for HD digital broadcasting innovation
• Introduced world's first 3Gbps video transmission solution
• First with 1080i de-interlacing, 10-bit processing and HD noise reduction
• Introduced world's first 10Gbps equalizer

2005

• In April 2005, our shareholders approved a Shareholder Rights Plan
• The nXZEN™ wireless headset, a Gennum-branded consumer product, was launched

2004

• Gennum introduced its Visual Excellence Processing™ (VXP™) line of image processors for the high-end television and projector markets, and its Bluetooth® wireless headsets with noise cancellation
• The Company purchased SiGe Semiconductor Inc.'s LightCharger® portfolio of optical networking ICs, which complemented our existing clock and data recovery (CDR) product line

2001

• Gennum announced our entry into the Data Communications market, and established a third business segment

1999

• By articles of amendment on April 14, each of the Company's issued and outstanding common shares were subdivided into three common shares

1997

• Gennum U.K. Limited was incorporated as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Gennum Corporation in December

1996

• Shareholders approved an amendment to subdivide the common shares of the Company by splitting each share into three common shares on April 10
• In November, Gennum Japan Kabushiki Kaisha was incorporated as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Gennum Corporation

1990

• On December 1, LTI and Gennum Corporation were amalgamated under the name Gennum Corporation

1987

• In December LTI transferred its silicon business to Gennum Corporation, a new wholly-owned subsidiary
• Gennum established a Video Broadcast Group following a favourable response by the broadcast industry to Gennum's proprietary products
• A sales office was opened in Japan to serve our expanding business in this market area

1982

• LTI became a public company in September, trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange

1973

• Linear Technology Inc. (LTI) was founded December 1 with the acquisition of assets from the Solid State Devices division of Westinghouse Canada Inc. and royalty-free rights to use its advanced semiconductor technology. The Company focused on providing specialized parts for the hearing instrument industry

Video Broadcast

Our knowledge of high-speed signal transmission technologies enables us to deliver industry-leading HDTV components for professional and broadcast video markets. Our award-winning portfolio includes SDI equalizers, reclockers, cable drivers, transmitters, receivers, timing and clock conditioning solutions. As a key contributor to the SMPTE, we continue to pioneer transport technologies that deliver new experiences for the video broadcast market.

Data Communications

As the demand for video-over-the-Internet reaches new highs, the need for a much higher bandwidth Internet supported by optical communications is critical. We offer a comprehensive suite of backplane interconnect and optical transceiver ICs including laser drivers, equalizers, SerDes, receive optical sub-assemblies (ROSAs), clock and data recovery (CDRs) and transimpedance amplifiers (TIAs) for high-speed data communication and telecommunication applications.

Consumer Connectivity

Today's consumers demand increasing levels of performance and resolution from their electronic equipment. Delivering true high-definition television to consumers requires sophisticated connectivity technology that can take advantage of existing cabling and equipment. The Gennum ActiveConnect™ connectivity solution consists of transmitter and receiver functions that enable consumers to stream HDMI, DVI and DisplayPort content, via low-cost cable, at distances that are an order of magnitude greater than previously available cables.

Industrial Connectivity

The transition from analog to digital is not just a consumer electronics phenomenon. Designers of industrial video applications also have a need to upgrade their existing analog over coaxial systems to full bandwidth HD video. Gennum Aviia™ (Advanced Video Interface for Industrial Applications) solutions meet this need with the industry's first HD video-over-coax interface for industrial imaging applications. Aviia solutions expand Gennum's leading A/V technology into new markets including video surveillance, machine vision, medical, digital signage, passenger infotainment, industrial imaging and video conferencing.

Computing

As PCI Express® (PCIe®) moves rapidly beyond PCs into embedded and communications systems, the ability to quickly migrate designs to PCIe enables designers to take advantage of this market opportunity. Gennum's portfolio of easy-to-use, turnkey PCIe-to-local bus bridges and retiming re-drivers speed time to market while solving important system issues and helping future proof designs.

Intellectual Property (IP)

Gennum's Snowbush IP group addresses the need for the design and delivery of silicon-proven, high-speed serial interface IP. The Snowbush IP portfolio includes complete, integrated, PHY and controller solutions for standards such as SuperSpeed USB, PCI Express® and Serial ATA (SATA), and single and multi-standard SerDes for applications with data rates from 1 Gb/s to over 10 Gb/s. Gennum's Snowbush IP group is committed to supporting customers with diverse foundry and process requirements.