Motorola invests in virtualization software maker

By Suzanne Deffree, Managing Editor, News -- 4/21/2008

Despite the company’s focus on its own reorganization, Motorola Inc continues to extend its reach and today announced an equity investment in VirtualLogix, a maker of virtualization software for communications devices and infrastructure equipment.

Financial terms of the investment were not disclosed. The move, made through Motorola Ventures, is in line with recent plans laid out by the Schaumburg, Ill-based company to separate its mobile-devices business and to focus on its broadband and mobility business, which includes Motorola’s enterprise mobility, government and public safety, and home and networks businesses.

"As the mobile eco-system grows increasingly complex, demand for simplified product designs that allow dynamic mobile experiences to run across multiple platforms will intensify," said Reese Schroeder, managing director of Motorola Ventures, in a statement. "Virtualization offers a solution to this complexity. Our investment in VirtualLogix will help accelerate the delivery of their technology to next-generation communications devices and infrastructure equipment."

Motorola joins VirtualLogix's current investors Atlas Venture, Cisco Systems, DFJ Esprit, Index Ventures, Intel Capital, and Texas Instruments.

"As virtualization moves out from the datacenter and into everyday front-end connected devices, our connected world will require the delivery of efficient, secure, and customizable user experiences," said Peter Richards, CEO of VirtualLogix, in the statement. "To meet this demand, leading electronics manufacturers are looking to leverage the VirtualLogix technology to create products with improved security, manageability, and customization."

VirtualLogix’s VLX technology allows multiple operating system environments to run concurrently on shared hardware and provides a range of performance, fault tolerance, and security options to address specific market requirements. VirtualLogix is headquartered in Sunnyvale, Calif, and has more than 20 years of experience developing system software for network infrastructure, digital multimedia, and mobile handsets.

© 2009, Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All Rights Reserved.