Ember announced today that it had gained “promoter” status in the ZigBee™ Alliance (www.zigbee.org), one of the most prominent industry groups advocating for reliable, cost-effective, low-power, wirelessly networked monitoring and control products based on an open global standard. Promoter status gives Ember a seat on the ZigBee board of directors, along with Honeywell, Motorola, Invensys, Philips, Samsung and Mitsubishi.
“As a ZigBee promoter, Ember is positioned and eager to play a leading role in standards development and adoption of low-powered wireless networking technology,” said Ember CEO Jeff Grammer. “We’re looking forward to using our role to encourage development of new wireless applications in industries ranging from consumer goods to national defense.”
The ZigBee Alliance’s goal is to build flexible, mobile wireless intelligence and capabilities into devices ranging from consumer products to industrial machinery. Its strategy for achieving that goal is to develop a standards-based wireless platform optimized for the unique needs of remote monitoring and control applications. Key among those needs are simplicity, reliability, low cost and low power use. As a promoter, Ember will influence which standards and products to endorse, and which strategic initiatives it pursues.
Ember has also deepened its standards experience by hiring Venkat Bahl, ZigBee’s vice chairman, as vice president of marketing. Bahl is responsible for setting Ember’s product direction, identifying key strategic markets, and developing partner relations. He was one of the prime movers behind ZigBee’s rise to prominence in the networking industry. His background includes extensive semiconductor and wireless communications experience in both the US and international markets. He has been involved with ZigBee since its early days in 2001, and he will also represent Ember on the ZigBee board of directors.
“The relationships that Venkat built and the initiatives he launched were important factors in the alliance’s growth from five active members in 2001 to 65 today,” said ZigBee Alliance Chairman Bob Heile. “He is a great addition to the fine team at Ember. Hiring Venkat and expanding its role in the alliance are good developments for both Ember and the alliance.”
Prior to his involvement with ZigBee, Bahl held marketing and engineering management positions at Philips Semiconductor and VLSI Technology Inc. From 2000 to 2003, he served first as CDMA marketing manager then wireless strategic marketing manager for Philips Semiconductors. As CDMA marketing manager, Bahl spearheaded Philips’ strategy for driving CDMA adoption in China.
About the ZigBee™ Alliance
ZigBee: Wireless Control That Simply Works
The ZigBee Alliance is an association of companies working together to enable reliable, cost-effective, low-power, wirelessly networked, monitoring and control products based on an open global standard. The ZigBee Alliance is a rapidly growing, non-profit industry consortium of leading semiconductor manufacturers, technology providers, OEMs, and end-users worldwide. Membership is open to all. Additional information can be found at www.zigbee.org.
About Ember Corporation
Ember removes the barriers to embedded networking. Ember’s self-organizing, self-healing, wireless mesh technology is uncompromisingly robust, easy to use, and flexible. The EmberNet™ networking platform gives forward-thinking companies the means to create products that do more by communicating better. Founded in 2001 and headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, Ember Corporation is a privately held company with investments from Polaris Venture Partners, GrandBanks Capital, Dr. Robert Metcalfe, DFJ New England, Stata Venture Partners, RRE Ventures and DFJ ePlanet and is focused on enhancing sensing and control products through wireless connectivity. More information is available at http://www.ember.com.
