Esmertec Private company based in Zurich, Switzerland
• CEO: Hansruedi Heeb
• What it does: Develops Java software applications for the mobile world.
• Why it's hot: Its Java Virtual
Machine (JVM) technology claims to be smaller and more than 10 times faster than that of competitors, keeping the cost of handsets down and increasing battery life. There are estimates that by 2003, one-quarter of the 660 million new mobile phones sold worldwide will be equipped with JVM technology. www.esmertec.com
Hantro Private company based in
Oulu, Finland • CEO: Eero Kaikkonen
• What it does: Develops
coding and decoding technologies and video applications for handheld devices.
• Why it's hot: Hantro’s technology is used by manufacturers developing video-capable products such as cell phones, still cameras, personal digital assistants, camcorders, PC cameras and Web pads. www.hantro.com
Hotsip Private company based in
Stockholm, Sweden • CEO: Jens Lundström
• What it does: Develops software products for broadband and
mobile networks and terminals.
• Why it's hot: Its technology supports both the Session Initiation Protocol (sip) and the Wireless Village industry standards, allowing for interoperability of instant messaging, among other services. www.hotsip.com
IpUnplugged Private company based in
Stockholm, Sweden • CEO: Magnus Lengdell
• What it does: Its technology allows telecom operators to offer customers a way of roaming between different types of wireless networks without having to reconnect, change settings or lose connections.
• Why it's hot: The technology aims to allow consumers to use the same e-mail address at work, at home and on all their wireless devices and roam seamlessly between mobile networks. www.IpUnplugged.com
Mobeon Private company based in
Stockholm, Sweden • CEO: Ulf Avrin
• What it does: Sells software applications that enable telecom operators to set up mobile corporate e-mail services for their customers.
• Why it's hot: All the telephone carriers are scrambling to satisfy the market for mobile corporate e-mail. Mobeon’s advantages: Avrin, the former ceo of Ericsson Microsoft Mobile Venture, and big-name customers like Vodafone. www.mobeon.com
Network365*
Private company based in
Kilmacanogue, Ireland • CEO: Raomal Perera
• What it does: Helps carriers to deploy mobile commerce on their networks.
• Why it's hot: The company won both the gsm industry association "best wireless application developer" award in 2002 and a contract with Hutchinson that is expected to cover Italy, Sweden and the U.K. among other countries. www.network365.com
Manfred Stefener
Norwood Systems*
Private company based in
Richmond, England
• CEO: Paul Ostergaard
• What it does: Uses Bluetooth wireless technology for office connectivity.
• Why it's hot: Reduces telecom costs while giving employees the freedom to communicate without being tied to their desks. www.norwoodsystems.com
Pocit Labs Private company based in
Uppsala, Sweden • CEO: Christer Rindebratt
• What it does: Produces software for Bluetooth wireless communications.
• Why it's hot: Once switched on, a mobile phone equipped with BlueTooth and BlueTalk software will automaticallty spot similarly equipped devices and synchronize them for multi-player gaming or chatting. The company won first prize for the most innovative use of Bluetooth technology at the Bluetooth Congress in 2001. www.pocit.com
Red-M Private company based in
Wooburn Green, England • CEO: Mike Wilson
• What it does: Combines multiple local wireless technologies in a single platform.
• Why it's hot: Red-M’s technology allows the delivery of voice, video and data services across a variety of wireless networks—including Bluetooth and 802.11 —to a range of devices from mobile phones to personal digital assistants. www.red-m.com
Symbian Private company based in
London, England • CEO: David Levin
• What it does: Wireless software.
• Why it's hot: The recent decision by Siemens to take a 5% stake gives Symbian another ally in its battle with Microsoft to become the leading operating system for mobile phones. Symbian’s other shareholders include Nokia, Psion, Sony/Ericsson, Matsushita and Motorola. www.symbian.com
BUSINESS APPLICATIONS
These companies make the
under-the-hood stuff to help the Internet truly revolutionize the way we live and work.
Autonomy*
Public company based in
Cambridge, England and San Francisco, California • CEO: David Mike Lynch
• What it does: Autonomy’s
software uses pattern recognition to identify concepts, tag them and automatically set up hyperlinks with related information on company Intranets and the Web.
• Why it's hot: Analysts give it high marks for the efficient way it solves content and knowledge-management issues for corporations. www.autonomy.com
Kiala*
Private company based in
Brussels, Belgium • CEO: Denis Payre
• What it does: Provides software backbone and distribution services to direct vendors in Europe, from catalog retailers (La Redoute) to beauty companies (Yves Rocher).
• Why it's hot: Headed by two of Europe’s most experienced serial entrepreneurs, it is the first to target this specific market in
Europe. www.kiala.com
Open Business ExchangePrivate company based in London, England • CEO: Alain Falys
• What it does: Enables large buyers of goods and services to receive electronic invoices from suppliers directly into their accounting and other systems.
• Why it's hot: In the U.S. and Europe more than 15 billion paper invoices are processed each year, at an estimated cost of $40 per invoice. The company automates the back office functions of both buyers and suppliers resulting in potential cost reductions of some 80%. www.obexchange.com
SAP*
Public company based in
Walldorf, Germany • CEOs: Hasso Plattner and
Henning Kagermann
• What it does: Designs and implements efficiency-building software that consolidates company information, from order taking to production and accounting.
• Why it's hot: In an economic downturn, products that make businesses more efficient are in demand. Thirty-year-old SAP had revenues of $6.53 billion and profits of $1.68 billion in 2001. www.sap.com
Streamserve Private company based in
Stockholm, Sweden and Lexington, Massachusetts • CEO: Nick Earle
• What it does: Business communication software for the management of document exchange between different computer and software systems.
• Why it's hot: It has more than 3,000 global customers across a wide range of industries and partnerships with major software and hardware vendors such as SAP, Oracle and Hewlett-Packard. www.streamserve.com
Systinet* (formerly Idoox)
Private company based in Prague, Czech Republic and Cambridge, Massachusetts • CEO: Roman Stanek
• What it does: Provides a software platform for Web services.
• Why it's hot: Web services have emerged as the next generation of distributed computing. And Systinet is well positioned to be a leading independent software-platform provider for Web services, even though Microsoft is a competitor. www.systinet.com
EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES
These companies provide a glimpse of things to come.
Cambridge DisplayTechnologies
Private company based in
Cambridge, England • CEO: David Fyfe
• What it does: Creates a new class of flat panel displays from light-emitting polymer technology.
• Why it's hot: As the inventor and licensor of the technology, the company is laying the groundwork for lighter, brighter, less power-consuming displays for mobile phones and eventually televisions. www.cdtltd.co.uk
MEMSCAP Public company based in Ismier, France and San Jose, California
• CEO: Jean-Michel Karam
• What it does: Provides the wireless and optical-communications industries with microelectromechanical systems, or mems, which are used to integrate miniature devices, such as gears, motors, mirrors and levers, with controlling electronics.
• Why it's hot: It is the first European public company specializing exclusively in mems technology, which can help improve product performance by miniaturizing functions and equipment. www.memscap.com
Smart Fuel Cell Private company based in
Brunnthal-Nord, Germany • CEO: Manfred Stefener
• What it does: Makes a micro fuel cell that runs on methanol, providing much longer life than any other portable battery.
• Why it's hot: It aims to replace the batteries used in today’s laptops and camcorders. www.smartfuelcell.com
Firms marked with an asterisk (*) appeared on Time’s 2001 list of the hottest tech companies in Europe.
By TIME’s Jennifer L. Schenker, with input from independent analyst Ron Belt, as well as venture capitalists and research firms: Accel Partners, Apax, Ariadne Capital, Atlas, Brainheart Capital, Deloitte Touche, edVentures, Gartner Group, IDC, Index Ventures, Insight Capital Partners, Intel Capital, Lightreading, Merlin BioSciences, Northzone, Philips Venture Capital, Sofinnova Partners, Wellington Partners and 3i.
Europe's Hottest Tech Companies: TIME picks those with the greatest future potential, not present hype. When Investors Go Dutch: The European Tech Tour hits the Netherlands, home to ambitious firms like Tridion Europe's Biotech Finds the Formula: Take increased investment, new laws and a changing culture, and you get a Continent able to compete with the U.S. Remote Control: Wi-Fi may promise a future of home wireless networks, but does it work?
