corporate overview
Gennum Corporation (TSX: GND) designs innovative semiconductor solutions and intellectual property (IP) cores to serve the rising global demand for high-speed data transmission products in the broadcast, networking, storage and telecommunications markets. Gennum offers proven optical, analog and mixed-signal solutions with uncompromising signal integrity to support standards such as high-definition (HD) video, Fibre Channel, InfiniBand®, Ethernet, SONET and PCI Express®. The company is headquartered in Burlington, Canada, and has global design, research and development and sales offices in Canada, Mexico, Japan, Germany, United States, Taiwan, India and the United Kingdom.
Gennum Fast Facts
- Dr. Franz Fink, President and CEO
- Headquartered in Burlington, Ontario Canada
- Founded in 1973
- 2010 revenue of $128 M (USD)
- Listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX:GND)
- Employs approximately 400 people worldwide
2011
- Gennum acquires Nanotech Semiconductor, strengthening its mixed signal portfolio
- Gennum enables 100Gb/s networks with 25Gb/s reference-free CDRs
2010
- Gennum introduces the world's first integrated 10G EPON chipset
- Gennum delivers the world's first 14Gb/s Crosspoint switch
- Gennum unveils world’s largest, most feature-rich video Crosspoint switch - 290x290
- 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, crosspoints, reclockers, cable drivers, serializers, deserializers, 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.
Networking, Storage and Telecom
The demand for more bandwidth and increased speed to support the explosion of data and video traffic over the internet is driving the need for high-speed signal integrity solutions that ensure ultra-fast data transmission in various networking, storage and telecommunications applications. To ensure the networks of today and tomorrow can meet this growing demand, Gennum leverages its expertise in high-performance, integrated module ICs and components for the high speed (10G+) optical transceiver market to offer a comprehensive suite of backplane interconnect and optical transceiver ICs including laser/modulator drivers, equalizers, SerDes, receive optical sub-assemblies (ROSAs), clock and data recovery (CDRs), re-drivers, bridges, limiting amplifiers and transimpedance amplifiers (TIAs). Our high-speed and high-performance optical transceiver component technology allows for integration and bundling advantages and our expertise positions us well for the nascent 40/100G market.
In addition, Gennum’s Snowbush Division delivers high-speed digital and mixed-signal IP for the computer, networking, storage and telecom markets, accelerating product development by providing co-engineering resources and high-performance platform technology.
Industrial Connectivity
Designers of industrial video applications are rapidly upgrading their existing analog-over-coaxial systems to full bandwidth HD video. Gennum AviiaTM (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 (HDcctv), machine vision, medical, digital signage, passenger infotainment, industrial imaging and video conferencing. A pioneer in this market, Gennum is a founding member of the HDcctv Alliance, an industry consortium developing HD connectivity standards for mainstream video surveillance and CCTV applications.
Consumer Connectivity
Today's consumer applications require increasing levels of performance and data throughput. For example, Intel's Thunderbolt™ technology is a revolutionary new high-speed computer input/output (I/O) method that offers a quantum leap in data transfer rates compared to other standards. These unprecedented speed requirements place unique demands on the transmission media. That's where Gennum's expertise in the 10Gb/s datacom space comes into play. Our many years of experience with high-speed links has given us the unique capability to rise to the challenges of Thunderbolt™ with the industry's first high-speed solutions for Thunderbolt™ applications.
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.
