PhotonEx, which amassed $178 million in venture capital in just over two years, has cut jobs as carriers demand for
advanced but costly optical networking equipment was blunted by recession.
"We're not talking specific numbers, but it was significant," said Kristin Rauschenbach, cofounder, president and CEO of the Maynard, Mass., firm.
The only department spared were sales and professional and customer service, key as PhotonEx moves its product into general availability and field testing. At its
peak, the firm employed about 200 workers.
Raushenbach said PhotonEx managed its war chest wisely during 2001 and has enough cash to see it through the next two years if need be. She expects carriers to
begin reinvesting in their networks in 2003, with Europe and Asia recovering before the United States.
PhotonEx's product helps service providers boost bandwidth and transmission speeds across backbone networks to 40 gigabits per second. The privately held firm
was founded in September 1999 by MIT researchers and emerged from stealth
mode in November 2000, a heady time for telecom firms.
For now, PhotonEx will keep meeting immediate goals, such as recent regulatory approval and addressing customer feedback, until its prospective buyers open their
wallets.
"We view '02 as a year to validate our product in marketplace and then '03 to ramp up, that is certainly the year when we are hearing the ramps will come,"
Raushenbach said.
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